Wait a second. It's Memorial Day weekend already? Just not possible! But, oh so welcome! Along with that, Pennsylvania Hiking Week kicked off yesterday (through Friday, June 2) and National Trails Day puts a big bow on the celebration on Saturday, June 3 so there are plenty of opportunities ahead for celebrating the outdoors and all the ways we love it.

Perhaps while you are out, you'll snap a few photographs. Perhaps they'll be horizontal and they'll feature you and your family enjoying one of those wonderful ways we love our parks and forests. Perhaps you'll send one or two or several to us or share them on our Facebook page. That would be wonderful indeed. Thank you.

Our masthead photo this week from Megan Renee Photography posted to the Ole Bull State Park Book of Faces a few weeks ago, shares a near universal sentiment of "looking up and looking forward to summer." Enjoy!

Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

News of note

Thank you to all the folks who came out and walked last Saturday in the Highmark Walk for a Healthy Community. Word on the street was our tent was the friendliest and most fun so a pat on the back to all of our friends for making it so! Not only that, we raised nearly $5,300 from the event. Lots of work; lots of smiles!

When it comes to getting out to enjoy PA Hiking Week, word comes that the Old Loggers Path and the Loyalsock Trail in the Loyalsock State Forest have been impacted by flooding and road washouts. Advisories and a map of the impacted area can be found on the Loyalsock SF website. The good news is that there are two Hiking Week excursions scheduled for other parts of the forest.

Some time ago, Take Five included a note about the Pennsylvania Master Naturalist program and their goal of training a legion of citizen scientists and advocates across the commonwealth. Starting small, the program has concentrated efforts in the eastern part of the state. However, Coraopolis Janet sent along a copy of the most recent PMN enewsletter with the announcement that our friends at the Allegheny Land Trust have stepped up to offer a training for budding western PA naturalists in 2018. An exciting and welcome opportunity.

Thanks to the Highmark Walk and a few other introductory events over the last month or so, we have a lot of new subscribers to Take Five. If you're not really all that sure who PPFF is and what we do (or even if you know all about us but could use a fresh perspective), check out the new "get acquainted" video from our YouTube channel. Feel free to share it with friends!

At work and play in the parks and forests

Putting aside Hiking Week events for a moment ...

North

A wonderful experience can be enjoyed on Saturday afternoon at Poe Paddy with Bureau of Forestry wildlife biologist Aura Stauffer at Poe Paddy. Pennsylvania's bats need your love. 

South

Did I mention that Pennsylvania's bats need your love? Count them at Cowans Gap on Saturday evening; while you'll find that music is the order of the evening through the Friends of Greenwood Furnace at Whipple Dam. 

East

Did someone ask for music? Enjoy some Music in the Woods at Frances Slocum State Park on, once again, Saturday evening.

West

Moraine is another place to indulge your (okay, MY) bat fixation with a Saturday afternoon habitat program.   

No matter what region of the commonwealth you want to visit, our website Events and the DCNR Calendar of Events are great sources for things to see and do. Bookmark them!

Picture of the week

Just some of the Cool Kids who came out for the Neshaminy State Park clean-up with FCM Travel Solutions on Friday and for the Highmark Walk last Saturday. Busy May!

Take five for trivia

There are lots of Prince Gallitzin State Park fans amongst our readers, so the fact that Demitrius Augustine Gallitzin was a Russian nobleman who traded worldly riches for a simpler life as a priest in the western Pennsylvania mountains was not a surprise to them. If you do not yet count yourself among those PGSP aficionados, this is a good weekend to make its acquaintance - the Friends will sponsor their annual and very moving salute to the military on Saturday morning at the campground amphitheater the Chapter worked so hard to renovate and restore. 

For our last question of May and in keeping with the occasion of Memorial Day, can you name three state parks or forests that have an historic connection to armed conflicts that took place on American soil?

Send in your answer and we'll enter your correct response into our monthly prize drawing. All correct answers each week will go into the hat and at the end of the month we'll draw one lucky winner. The more correct answers you submit in a month (up to four or the occasional five depending on the month), the more chances you'll have to win.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation (PPFF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization - contributions to which are tax deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law. The official registration and financial information of PPFF may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling, toll-free within Pennsylvania, to 800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation is a proud member of EarthShare and is a Gold GuideStar Participant.