A little snow greeted us on Thursday morning here in the Valley of the Foot of the Turkey, but it didn't even last long enough to get much of a photograph - certainly not like the masthead.

For whatever reason I could not get the Book of Faces to load while doing today's project so I've had to dig back into the archives a bit for this picture I took at the Ramcat trailhead for the Great Allegheny Passage in Ohiopyle several several years ago. It might even have been a Christmas snow storm.

Pam Metzger
Membership Coordinator

News of Note

You have three more days to place an order through Bonfire tees for your Get Out...Side shirts. Just click the photo and away you'll go!

We are happy to be partnering with Sinnemahoning State Park to bring you the Women in the Wilds programs this February and June. Registration for February is now open, and will be capped at 30 participants. The cost is $70 for the weekend of programs, so I would recommend you scoot on over to the event page at http://bit.ly/2020WWITW and check it out.

The environmental education center renovations at Samuel S. Lewis State Park along the mighty Susquehanna roll on with the purchase of new lights for the center. Thank you, donors, for making this and so many other great things happen! You should wear a "halo."

At Work and Play in the State Parks and Forests

The snow it comes; the snow it goes. But the great PA outdoors is there waiting for you regardless of temperature or cloud cover!

NORTH	SOUTH
Speaking of SINNEMAHONING STATE PARK, two of my favorite things (as I've mentioned many times in the past for these events) are coffee and birds. The park's bringing them together this Saturday morning for a Project Feeder Watch event.	Meanwhile, at KINGS GAP ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER, they're including tea and hot chocolate in the Project Feeder Watch menu. Saturday morning. (And while you're there, consider hanging around for the Friends of Kings Gap's Holiday Coffee House on Saturday evening.)
EAST	WEST
Take the pooch for a stroll on Sunday morning at NOLDE FOREST ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION CENTER.	Here's good advice from PYMATUNING STATE PARK: Decide to Be Outside! (It's the name of a Saturday morning hike, too!)

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

This one is a bit late, but I just found it. Facebook friend and Somerset Countian Linda Seanor had her fox photograph selected as first place in the wildlife category for 2019 by Pennsylvania Magazine. Congratulations to Linda - and Laurel Hill State Park where the photograph was taken. And I apologize that it is fuzzy (the photo, not the fox) but that's a symptom of the Book of Faces refusing to load photos today. Check out the original post.

Take Five for Trivia

It has been a while since I posed the question about the identity of Ruth Patrick so thank you for remembering. Ms. Patrick's role in Pennsylvania conservation was through her expertise in diatoms and limnology, two terms the significance of which I was previously wholly ignorant. "Limnology" is the study of inland equatic ecosystems and "diatoms" are the teeny tiny little algae that live in them. Dr. Patrick was a pioneer in understanding the relationship between species diversity and overall water quality. And although she was a Kansan by birth, Pennsylvania was able to claim her for our own when she joined the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University during the Depression where she worked for eight years without pay before joining the Academy in 1947 as the chair of the Department of Limnology. November 26 would have been her 112th birthday and whilst you would be forgiven for thinking 112 would be an excessively long life, she DID in fact live to 105!

Congratulations to our November trivia winner, Bonnie Marsh, to whom a prize will wing its way shortly.

To kick off December, let's talk about that little red fox. Does he/she have more in common with your dog or your cat?

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

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.