Facebook's problems this week made tracking down appropriate timely photographs a little challenging. Frankly, it actually made me feel a little better to know that techno wizards like Mark Zuck can find gremlins in the wires at times. Knowing the faces I make and the frustration I feel (and, yes, the words I shout) when the little ball just spins or the little blue bar gets stuck, it was kind of funny to picture FB HQ in similar meltdown.

Sorry. That was mean!

So it being St. Patrick's Day weekend, the solution to the masthead dilemma seemed to be to find a really green photograph from the archive. This nice atmospheric shot was submitted to our 2014 photo contest and is from Goddard State Park. Unfortunately I don't know the identity of the photographer! Five years ago we didn't do a very good job of enforcing the requirement that all photos be labeled "photographername.photocategory.parkorforest" so that when we go back years later we can give credit. So if you're out there, photo person, please let me know so I can relabel this one!

By the way, this year's contest is open (go to http://bit.ly/2019PPFFPhotoContest for rules and to submit your photos).

Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

News of Note

The second meeting of the potential Friends of Michaux takes place on Tuesday evening, March 19 at 6:30 PM. Meet at the Mont Alto Fire Company on South Main Street in Mont Alto to find out more. Big forest, big plans!

You may have noticed a couple of weeks ago that we will be participating in the Give York Local day of giving on May 3. Among the promotional pieces that are part of this day, ABC Channel 27 is offering 10 slots on the news to the best promotional videos from GYL participants. Are you a videographer with a little time to spare? We could use your help! Contact Amanda to talk about it. 

At Work and Play in the State Parks and Forests

Thanks, readers, for weighing in with your opinion on which events to feature in this column. Most folks really do want to see immediate opportunities to get out and play since time is so crunched these days, it seems, that it's nice to "just have a reminder that if I have an hour tomorrow or Sunday, there's something cool I could try." Thanks, Jennifer. So, the listings below will stay focused on the immediate future but again, let me encourage you to bookmark both our PPFF events calendar and DCNR's so that you can actually plan ahead if being spontaneous just doesn't work in your time-crunched world! Because it is about to get very busy in the parks and forests, isn't it?

NORTH	SOUTH
Spring migration is picking up steam. SINNEMAHONING STATE PARK invites you to check out the Hawks and Other Raptors on the scene on Saturday afternoon.	Park Manager Mike at GREENWOOD FURNACE STATE PARK encourages the wearin' of the green for a spring hike on Saturday morning. This will be a moderately strenuous excursion!
EAST	WEST
The Friends of Washington Crossing are our education award winners this year and what is more educational than a book club? WASHINGTON CROSSING HISTORIC PARK has one and the book being read/discussed is Brady J. Crytzer’s "Hessians: Mercenaries, Rebels, and the War for British North America." The club meets on Monday evenings. Click to find out more.	Our annual photo contest always reminds us how much people like to have their dogs along on their adventures. Get some tips on keeping Fido healthy in the outdoors with a Dogs Outdoors program at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center on Saturday afternoon.

UPCOMING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

The Friends of Cook Forest are looking for a creative marketing type to help get the word out about the programs and projects in the Forest Cathedral and surroundings. Contact Chapter Chair Amanda DiBenedetto with a click to the button.

These and other fun events and fulfilling volunteer opportunities can be found on the PPFF events calendar and DCNR Calendar of Events. Bookmark them and you'll never miss the boat (or hike or festival).

Picture of the Week

Near as I can tell, the Book of Faces problem has been primarily focused on groups and organizations. I have been able to get my feed mostly but PPFF's, DCNR's various pages, even odd little groups I belong to just spin and spin. So I was fortunate that a photographer friend, paul g wiegman, re-posted his gorgeous study of the snow trillium (one of my favorite flowers). They grow in abundance near Confluence. We always do the Dance of Joy when they arrive.

Take Five for Trivia

I hope you took a moment to check out the DCNR Story Maps for the answer to our geology question. Maps tell a wonderful tale and I am not just saying that because I'm married to Mapmaker Metzger! All of the story maps on the DCNR site are great places to lose a few minutes in dreaming.

To the case at hand, however, the "30 Outstanding Geologic Features" include, by my count, 14 state parks in 17 of the listings: Presque Isle, Worlds End, Hyner View, Ohiopyle, Hickory Run, Archbald Pothole, Ricketts Glen, Leonard Harrison, Colton Point, Big Pocono, Lehigh Gorge, Trough Creek, McConnells Mill, and Pine Grove Furnace. 

This week? Trillium trivia! One website I visited said: "Trillium plants belong in a shaded woodland setting, where their quiet elegance commands attention." Agreed! Of the species of this gem in the world, how many are native to the United States?

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.

In closing

Wednesday, March 20 is not only the Spring Equinox but it's also World Storytelling Day, designed to celebrate the art of oral storytelling. With radio shows like "The Moth," and storytelling festivals cropping up all over, the art is alive and well. This year's theme of "myths, legends, and epics" got us to thinking of the state parks and forests and how they lend themselves so easily to this idea. The visits you and your family make today are links in a chain that go back the generations and craft the memories your children will take along with them all the years of their lives. How we'd love to hear yours! Share your Epic Adventure. The Myth of the Ricketts Glen Raccoons. The Legend of the Grandpa Who Took Me Camping.

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 (PPFF) is a proud member of Earth Share and 1% for the Planet and is a Gold GuideStar participant.