Take Five: Is it just me or is it kinda weird in here?


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FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS

Our Mission: To inspire stewardship of Pennsylvania's state parks and forests

Photo by Sherry Chen
Beltzville State Park

I knew when I started to work on Fridays this week that I would not suffer for a lack of pictures. I knew this because about 10 seconds after I launched last week's issue I was on Facebook and found about 14,000 foliage photos!

An embarrassment of riches.

Speaking of which, Tasha tells us that there were over 700 entries into this year's photo contest. My oh my, I do not envy that girl having to get that organized. The pictures are being perused by our photo judges at the moment, after which they will be uploaded to the Book of Faces for People's Choice voting. Be patient, please!

Then there's an embarrassment of witches ... In Ligonier, I discover, I have been missing an annual Witches Bike Brigade, an event I do not intend to miss next year! AND, we learned, Clinton County has its own official monster, the witches' helper Giwoggle.

Not to be confused with Google apparently.

Please enjoy a fun and slightly spooky pre-Halloween weekend (complete with full Hunters Moon). And do enjoy the shots I include this week - and all of the other fabulous pictures out there on Mr. Internet. Sherry Chen's picture from Beltzville (from the access-restricted Pennsylvania state parks and forests page) hits my love of water and sky!

Pam Metzger,

Membership Coordinator

pmetzger@paparksandforests.org

814.233.5703

NEWS OF NOTE

A good time was had by all at Barley Mow Beer on Wednesday evening to celebrate release of New Trail Brewing's new French Creek brew. This one is selling fast so be sure to check out the Beer Finder and get yours before it's gone.

The days leading up to Halloween seem an appropriate time to bring chainsaws into the discussion. Here though the purpose is quite benign - safety!

Thanks to Bob Sickley for training another batch of chainsaw-wielding madmen, no ... VOLUNTEERS, in the means to safely remove fallen trees from our parks and forests earlier this month.

(Photo here by Matthew Schroeder from an Appalachian Trail Conservancy training conducted by Bob in April; Matthew's article on the need for this training sums the reasoning and process up quite nicely!)

Just in time for holiday shopping comes our new tote bag to the online store! Not only will it make a great gift but it's great for carrying the gifts you buy when you're out and about.

How many products can do two things at once?

Check it out at ppff.gives/shop-online.

As so often happens, we learn news belatedly. And sometimes it is sad. Last Christmas Day marked the passing of Bob Schweitzer of Ebensburg, a long-time PPFF member and former District Forester for the Gallitzin State Forest. In his obituary, his family asked that "In lieu of flowers ... plant a tree and give it a hug."

We also note with respect the October 7th passing at the age of 101 of Cornelius "Connie" McHugh of Lehighton. Mr. McHugh was by all accounts a jokester, a dancer, and a good cook. He was also the last known surviving CCC Boy from Promised Land State Park. Like many of the Boys he enlisted (in the Marines) the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, serving in the South Pacific.

If you have spent any time at Pine Grove Furnace State Park, you will have seen this guy around either wearing the garb pictured here or, just as likely, in a bright orange volunteer shirt. This is Andre Weltman, Chair of the Friends of Pine Grove Furnace, and he is as much a fixture of the park as the charcoal furnace behind him.

Andre is a fountain (or furnace) of historic knowledge and possesses seemingly boundless energy and enthusiasm for his park, a fact recently recognized by the Cumberland County Historical Society when they honored him at their recent annual meeting as the Milton E. Flower Historian of the Year.

Next time you are the park, look for him and say hello and thank you. (And check out the series of Pine Grove history videos on our YouTube channel.)

SAVE THE DATE!

We are participating in the Bob Ross Happy Little Trees Virtual 5k event next April. Inspired by painter Bob Ross and his famous "happy little trees," the 5k raises money for tree planting in nine states, including ours.

You can sign up now to participate and if you choose Pennsylvania as your preferred state, a portion of the proceeds will come back to PPFF for the tree-planting fund. All participants get a tee-shirt, a medal, other goodies - and we are planning to host a few not-so-virtual events as well. So stay tuned!

The surprising benefits of switching to ‘lamb mowers’

A little bit of feel-good information

Find out more

PHOTOS OF THE WEEK

Pymatuning State Park

Kody Beer got this lovely sunrise at Pymatuning. Would like to be on that boat, I think. It and several others from that day's visit can be found on our Exploring PA Parks and Forests Book of Faces. No "membership" needed! Nice basis for a jigsaw, too.

Cook Forest State Park

Or is it Clear Creek? Steph Beichner did a visit to both, as posted to the Hiking & Backpacking Pennsylvania page. Don't you just want to go kicking through those leaves?

Ricketts Glen State Park

No autumnal appreciation would be complete without a visit to Ricketts Glen. Here @bhusal_arjun's Instagram photo was shared by the folks at DiscoverNEPA.

Ohiopyle State Park

The falls down in Ohiopyle get most of the attention but I am just a little partial to the view from Baughman Rock. Sometimes it feels like you're taking your life in your hands to travel Sugarloaf Road (watch the eroded edges) but it's worth it for these views. Thanks, Jarhed Szalkowski, for sharing.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

This regular feature is on hiatus for now; be sure to put a bookmark on the PPFF Events calendar and DCNR Calendar of Events so you don't miss a chance to participate in something fun over the next few months.

TAKE FIVE FOR TRIVIA

Marci's doll's eyes plant inspired this week's salute to creepiness in the photo carousel below.

Now, our newsletter template thingy tells me that not all email programs will allow the photos to be shown in a "carousel form," so my fingers are crossed on the technology here. But some fun images were shared nevertheless.

Thanks to the photographers who played along with me on this. Phyllis Terchanik said the weird tree freaked her out because the thing looked perfectly normal when she went by it the first time.

"Dead man's fingers" by Jason Cole
Marbled weaver spider by Diane Smith
"The Forest is Watching" by Marci
"Sticks or alien?" by Marci
Ghost bride by Phyllis (2015 at Clear Creek)

Thanks also to Rick Mauk, who sent along another creepy tree but the darned thing would NOT switch from its vertical orientation. Which is frustrating if not creepy

This week's question salutes a critter that many find off-putting. I am not among them. It's Bat Week! And if the photo below by Merlin D. Tuttle of Bat Conservation International of a lesser long-nosed bat doesn't convince you that they are amazing, I suppose that nothing will.

In any event, which do MOST bats eat: (a) blood, (b) bugs, (c) bananas?

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.

WHERE ARE WE THIS WEEK?

IN CLOSING

This week is a repeat from Halloween 2020. I found it as I was looking in my photo files and, well, I love it as much now as I did then.

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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.

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704 Lisburn Road, Suite 102
Camp Hill PA 17011

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