Taking a poll? Phil - right or wrong? 

All I know is that the winter probably can't get much weirder. I hear from folks at home that it's frigid. Then it's 50 degrees. Then it's sleeting. But now it's warm. Completely chaotic and it is making my search for lovely snow photos pretty dicey.

Thankfully, the folks at Cowans Gap State Park shared a bunch of spectacular shots from last week's storm to their Facebook page. I have decided to make a different one the jigsaw for the week. It is a doozy of a shot and sure to be a challenging puzzle!

An ambitious plan has been announced in England to see that every household is within a 15-minute walk of greenspace or water with farmers a key player in preserving and restoring that green and pleasant land.

Here in Pennsylvania, DCNR through the Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP) is working with Trust for Public Land to do Jolly Ol' England one better and make greenspace (i.e., a park) reachable within a ten minute walk of every Pennsylvanian. (Read a refresher on the idea at DCNR's website.)

A series of webinars for those who would be responsible for making that plan a reality in rural areas of the state kicks off on Valentine's Day. If you are involved with your local community government or an organization that would otherwise be involved in assisting toward that goal, sign up to attend the webinar. 

PPFF has long stated that "ensuring a place and an experience for everyone in Pennsylvania's outdoors" is key to our mission so we are nodding in appreciation!

Once again we begin to plan ahead with events for the third weekend of February. Check these and Great Backyard Bird Count events throughout the parks.

Put a bookmark on the PPFF Events calendar and DCNR Calendar of Events so you never miss an announcement.

Wrapped up January with a question of what two mountains embrace Nescopeck State Park. They are indeed Mount Yeager and Nescopeck Mountain.

Congratulations to our January winner, Krista of Elizabethtown. 

Let's welcome February with a salute to the ever-popular whistlepig prognosticator, Phil, and his family. Are they most closely related to (a) beavers, (b) squirrels, or (c) porcupines?

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.

As ever, blue boxes are pictures and news; green boxes are events.

Photo by Samantha Markovich
Prince Gallitzin State Park

Quote by Eliezer Yudkowsky

"The Simple Truth," LessWrong.com, 1/1/2008