It was another wild and wooly weather week. Is this what "winter" is? We Metzgers don't really know since we're usually south by now. So by all accounts we'll be in for an "interesting" time for the next couple of months, Bill and I. Don't frown, honey; you've always been "Smilin' Bill." I'm looking forward to getting the snowshoes out at some point. It's been a long while (but 14 with "feels like 14" isn't going to be the day for it). I know "no bad weather, only bad clothes." We'll work on that one!

Coming under the heading of "didja know," didja know that the 75 miles along Route 120 between Emporium and Lock Haven is actually a state park (natural area)? Yes, and it's rare to find a post that features even a portion of it. But Stephanie Shady captured some beauties on her way to work between Renovo and Lock Haven on Thursday morning. This one is a sure winner, and a fun jigsaw puzzle. 

Tasha is working diligently on figuring out the winners of the photo contest where voting closed earlier this week. I know, it SEEMS like it would be simple enough but in addition to recording the votes she has to compare the anonymous photographers' names to make sure that the same people don't win more than one category. 

We're always hoping to find a better way to manage the contest but for the fantastic software that's out there, all of these options seem to fall short. 

We'll hope to have announcements here next week but I suspect they'll appear on the Facebook page and on other social media like Instagram before then!

For whatever reason, waterfalls seemed to be the order of the day for this week. Well, who needs a reason really? All were shared on our Exploring PA Parks and Forests Book of Faces 

No, I'm not quite ready yet to bring back the weekly calendar review. However, as you might expect, the very popular First Day Hikes are already starting to populate the various calendars. We have two Chapters on our calendar so far (Pine Grove Furnace and Beltzville) with more to come when I can get to posting. DCNR's Calendar of Events is already very exciting. Make your plans to step off the New Year!

Quote: Attributed to Antoinette van Kleef

Photo: Matt Yingling, S.B. Elliott State Park
(Marci's favorite roadtrip picnic stop)

Someone asked me why I use the "attributed to" language on some of the quotes in this column. It's because Mr. Internet seems very fond of just taking random, admittedly sometimes quite pithy and/or inspiring, and perpetuating the myth that So-and-So said it. 

For example, NewEngland.com has pointed out that Mark Twain never said “It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.” Although he may well have; it sounds like him, right? 

In any event, my goal is not to appear stupid if I can help it!