A sea of books. That's what Hawk thought when she visited the 25th annual used book sale at Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library. Literally thousands of books!

Hawk is perched way, way back there. And that was only the first aisle! Here she is in the hardback fiction section. She thought it was fun to use the books as a place to pose.

We found a section on health and fitness:

And then there was the art and music section:

Now she really wants to learn to read. We'll start with B for bird and go from there. We'll keep you posted.

Our swap organizer Wildfyre has issued a new challenge: Nature.

Lucky for Hawk and me, there's an abundance of nature around here!

After much consideration (at least a couple of seconds), Hawk decided the place to start would be Beartown Rocks in Clear Creek State Park. (Besides, we got lost while driving around looking for the Laurel Fields, and that's where we ended up!)

She happened to find a round sprig of oak leaves on the trail, so she posed for this snapshot:

Then there was the climbing on the actual rocks. Hawk made a valiant effort and got about halfway up:

The picture feels a bit other-worldly. Alexampersandra on Craftster.org says it brings to mind the hobbits hiding from the ringwraiths near the beginning of that movie about the ring.

Check it out: http://concerninglordoftherings.blogspot.com/2013/08/scene-analysis-encounter-with-black.html

Read more: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=446286.260#ixzz4BxTdaIwo  

Hawk came back breathless and just a bit dirty.

And so goes the Pennsylvania Wilds adventure.

At last, Hawk and I were able to meet the challenge of a picture with our state symbol. Thank goodness the weather has finally cooperated -- Hawk was so bored with sitting on a shelf, waiting for sunshine and warmth.

We were able to snap pictures with two, yes two, of Pennsylvania's symbols. First, the eastern hemlock.

We couldn't get close enough for her to sit in the tree, so instead she decided to sit on the rope railing, next  to a utility pole, but you can see the big old hemlock behind her.

She wanted a closer shot, so even though we were losing the light, I managed to get this shot with the branches.

Hawk really liked the light/dark contrast of the new spring growth against the older needles.

Earlier in the day, my friend Judy alerted me to the fact that there is a mountain laurel bush in bloom right behind our library! As Hawk shouted hooray, we walked right over there and got some pics of this once-a-year Pennsylvania treasure.

The state made a smart decision when they named mountain laurel as the state flower. The delicate little blossoms with their pink stripes are a treat for any human or ostrich's eyes. Hawk just couldn't stop admiring them.

In fact, she insisted on a pose pointing to the blooms.

Groundhog Gus, move over! Hawk wants to be the new Pennsylvania mascot. I think she stands a good chance of being chosen.