Six More Weeks of Winter

Please check the PHMC Events Calendar if you're planning ahead. I've included some highlights below. The Trailheads Rec Room to the right of your screen has all kinds of online offerings--great for when you're trying to stay warm.

A stark, but beautiful, landscape at Pennsbury Manor (photo via Facebook)

So, before we could even start digging out from the latest snowstorm in southeastern PA (and elsewhere, of course), Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, predicting six more weeks of this...stuff. Great. Well, at least it looks pretty, as evidenced by these posts from the Trails of History.

The folks at Cornwall Iron Furnace have a lot of snow to clear. Even though our sites are closed to the public, there are staff members reporting for work on site to keep everything maintained and safe.

Ephrata Cloister always looks beautiful in the snow!

In addition to clearing snow for people, site staff also are on site when there are animals to take care of, such as here at Pennsbury Manor.

Bushy Run Battlefield is the closest Trails of History site to Punxsutawney (I think).

Upcoming virtual events

Friday, Feb. 5 and 12

• Learn at Lunchtime, The State Museum of Pennsylvania, 12:15-12:45 pm: today's (2/5) program is an artist conversation between fine arts curator Amy Hammond and photographer Ron Tarver (info and registration); next Friday (2/12), join Dr. Walter Meshaka, senior curator of zoology and botany, and nature educator Beth Erikson as they talk about how Pennsylvania's reptiles and amphibians survive winter (info and registration)

Thursday, Feb. 11

• Winter History Class (Week 2), Ephrata Cloister, 9 am-noon: we're in week 2 of the 9-week class, and today's topics are compulsory military service during the American Revolution and illuminations in Ephrata and Snow Hill manuscripts and prints (info, registration, and complete class schedule)
• ADDED: Ephrata Virtual Academy, 7-7:30 pm: enjoy a short presentation on artifacts in Ephrata's collection created by the PA Museum Extension Project in the 1930s as part of the Works Progess Administration (info and registration)

Tuesday, Feb. 16

• What's in a theme? PHMC Virtual Collections Showcase, 7-8 pm: this month's theme is Love and Relationships, in honor of Valentine's Day. Staff from six Trails of History sites will share objects related to the theme, and the audience will vote on their favorite (info and registration)