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FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS
Our Mission: Inspire Stewardship of Pennsylvania's State Parks and Forests
Clarion River Panorama - Cook Forest State Park
Photo by Bob Fescemyer
Spring was here and gone this week. It was flurrying yesterday morning when we left the Steel City following a quick doctor's appointment.
Such is the changeability of March, no? Not so much in like a lion this year!
Bob Fescemyer says the Clarion River pano was taken earlier in February. No matter when, it's a great shot, and makes a great jigsaw puzzle.
Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator
Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation
News of Note
The randomly chosen winner of the first of our "Creative Minds Salute the Environmental Rights Amendment" contests is Sue Adams, whose six word essay appears here.
We got some really great entries into the mix, and I've started to think in groups of six words now.
Where are the keys? Lost again.
Cat wants breakfast. Stop punching me.
Sunny afternoon inspires. Find those sneakers.
When all is said and done we plan to share all of the Creative Minds' entries in a downloadable freebie on the website.
For now, our March challenge has to do with the second promise of the ERA - pure water. A fresh glass right from the tap, babbling brooks, creeks and rivers that run for miles, a cannonball into a lake on a hot summer day. Pure water is life giving and refreshing. Tell us what it means to you in the form of a cinquain poem - a five line poem, each line containing the following amount of syllables (2-4-6-8-2). Get in on the fun with your submission to PAEnviroRights50@paparksandforests.org.
Finally, if your creativity tends toward the musical, consider the ERA50 song contest taking place all summer. We know that songwriters of all kinds have found inspiration in Mother Nature and our friends and neighbors here at PPFF are no different. Find out more at https://paparksandforests.org/our-work/education/era50/song-contest/
And you thought those 20 state forests were just a bunch of trees.
While it's a few years old, this article - The Desperate Plea of the Hellbender by Lauren Diaz - will, I hope, give significant pause to those folks out there who believe that building cairns is a harmless pursuit in tribute to "finding balance."
In fact, in a cruel twist of fate, they do in fact destroy balance.
By the way, a little Googling of Ms. Diaz reveals that she received her Masters from Clemson University where she focused on hellbenders. She's now working on a PhD at Oregon State studying steelhead trout. Lauren, I don't know you, but WAY to go!
Pictures of the Week
The effects of February's heavy snow and ice on the Forbes State Forest are seen in a series of photos by Dana Rukse in the Exploring PA Parks & Forests Book of Faces (and Weary Trees).
Says photographer Tracy Syrlyo of her visit to French Creek State Park: "Blue skies + bright sunshine + mild 50s + fresh air + snowy trail + muddy boots + camera = one happy woman!"
This is a lovely vertical once again cropped to fit our space here. Give it a click and salute Greg Tremper's visit to little Big Spring State Forest Picnic Area State Park Place. 76 parks down, 45 to go with this Big Visit.
After the snowy adventure it's always nice to come back to a roaring fire in a CCC cabin. Natalie Orcutt did that at Parker Dam State Park last weekend.
With this photo, we test the power of the internet! Reader Semion sent it in with a note that as he was going through old photos he came across this family he shot in 2011 on the Hosack Run Trail at Caledonia State Park. Curiosity got the better of him (and me) and he wonders if they are out there and will recognize themselves. I wonder where those youngsters got that ginger hair?
Where Are We?
Click for a larger view.
Take Five for Trivia
The smoothies have it! By an almost four to one margin, creamy peanut butter won out over chunky (although a few people said it makes no difference in the deliciousness). Thanks to Mary G. for the cookie recipe - definitely going to have to give it a try - and Kim says "Smooth, definitely smooth and creamy. I like it layered over a softened marshmallow, drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Yum. Kind of like a winter s’more!"
To which I could only reply, "Oh. my."
Congratulations to our randomly chosen winner for February, Pequea John. John's answer was chosen randomly but I did salute him for using natural peanut butter and homemade whole grain bread to conquer high cholesterol and triglycerides. The stuff is magic!
To kick off March, we featured the hellbender in a trivia question a few years ago in tribute to their becoming the OFFICIAL Pennsylvania amphibian. How do hellbenders breathe? Lungs. Skin. Feet.
Enter each week to increase your chances of a fabulous prize at the end of the month when I'll draw one entry from all correct answers received during the month.
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.
For now, our March challenge has to do with the second promise of the ERA - pure water. A fresh glass right from the tap, babbling brooks, creeks and rivers that run for miles, a cannonball into a lake on a hot summer day. Pure water is life giving and refreshing. Tell us what it means to you in the form of a cinquain poem - a five line poem, each line containing the following amount of syllables (2-4-6-8-2). Get in on the fun with your submission to 
