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Pennsylvania Parks & Forests Foundation

Making Sure There's a Place and an Experience for Everyone in
Pennsylvania's State Parks and Forests

Eating & Contemplating

July 18 through July 24

Taking It All In

July 17, 2014

This week is all about relaxation. Staring at a campfire or a distant star. Journal, draw, paint. Take a picture and some time out.

On page 54 of your Pennsylvania State Parks & State Forests Passport, you'll find a list of some of the PPFF staff favorite places to picnic and kick back.

It's worth remembering that being Outdoors doesn't always mean engaging in an Outdoor Activity. The website Drifting Clouds is actually all about conducting the age-old practice of meditation in the outdoors, letting "the sounds of streams and rivers soothe and refresh us."

Heed the call to "give yourself the time and attention to simply BE in the midst of your life with nothing else to do."
Harry Timney of our Panel of Experts got a break last week and paid a visit to Lyman Run State Park where the lake was definitely a-sparkle, and the fish were biting. Meanwhile, Samantha F. and the Reeds are both on a quest to mark all the state parks off their life lists. They are learning all about the geography (and size) of Pennsylvania and must be passing each other on the highway. Samantha lives west and needs to travel east; the Reeds live east and are traveling west! And to wrap up the shared "happy stories," Amy & Lizzie went out on the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail for a hike on a sunny glorious day.

We'd never be able to pick which happy story should receive our random prize of a PPFF baseball cap on the basis of "merit," so randomly? It's Samantha!

PPFF On the Move


Hard to believe, but the calendar reveals that we're all taking a weekend off to do some contemplating of our own!

Marci is planning a bike ride with friends, Pam is painting her Dad's deck (nothing like a paint roller to bring on contemplation AND an appetite), Jen is planning on meditating by the creek in her back yard (hoping the mosquitoes will pick up the Zen vibe and leave her alone), and Lisa will be camping (and testing a few Dutch oven recipes like pear pie for our Military & Families Appreciation Day coming up in September).

Whatever the plans, we'll all be helping to celebrate National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 20th!

Hammock Day


Tuesday, July 22nd is National Hammock Day. Although the origins of this "holiday" are lost to the mists of time (someone fell asleep and forgot to write down where the idea came from), hammocks themselves were used by the native inhabitants of Central and South America and introduced to Europeans by Columbus.

They've come a long way since the original woven bark (from the hamack tree) and are becoming increasingly popular for long distance backpacking expeditions.

Whatever your preference, the best advice for Tuesday? No lawn mowing allowed!

 

Health Watch


Way back in the Dark Ages of 1986, an Italian journalist and his friends discovered to their horror that an American fast food restaurant was to be built in Rome right beside the famous "Spanish Steps." It was, to them, a signal that their culture and way of life would soon be under attack.

Three years later, the Slow Food movement was officially born in Paris with the issuance of the Slow Food Manifesto which reads, in part:

“We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods… A firm defense of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life… May suitable doses of guaranteed sensual pleasure and slow, long-lasting enjoyment preserve us from the contagion of the multitude who mistake frenzy for efficiency. Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food.” (Excerpt from the Official Slow Food Manifesto, as published in “Slow Food: A Case for Taste” in 2001).

The journalist, Carlo Petrini, was honored by the United Nations at their Leadership Forum on July 7, 2014 for his vision and action in helping everyone to understand the importance of Eating and Contemplating in tandem.

"The universal folly of Fast Life." Seems they knew what they were talking about. While all around us technology promises simplicity and we honestly seem to believe that if we just work faster we'll get everything done. And then we'll take a little time to relax.

Fight back, GPOCers! Our Pinterest page is full of ideas for outdoor cooking, This week, maybe take the time to prepare one of the gourmet camping recipes and invite your family and friends to join with you in a leisurely celebration of long-lasting enjoyment!
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