Winter Library Hours

The Little Free Library movement is strong here in Mt. Airy.  And it is such a satisfying and easy way to give, receive and feel good about your neighborhood. So when this handsomely made box on its cedar post was offered to NWP in 2015, accepting it was a no brainer. But, since the offer did not include a commitment to maintain and stock it, we did wonder if we might have bit off more than our volunteer ranks were willing to chew

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Those fears proved baseless. The box has been used with increasing frequency for over two full years. Folks are often seen coming to drop off or select books at all hours. Kids often make a B-line to see what might be worth going home with as their parents catch up and help survey the pickin's.
Given all that community love our LFL has gotten, we thought it best not let seasonal darkness reduce what has become an important draw to the park.

Enter the LFL's own holiday lighting scheme! Just 'cauz we gussied up the park with showy sparkly lights doesn't mean we want to diminish our beloved literacy enhancing device.

 

Inside the box, a motion activated light will make it effortless to read the book titles even in a blackout thanks to a few AA batteries. Walk away and the light will shut off in 30 seconds

So, next time you are in the park, see if there's a book you might like to take with you!!!

 

2017 holiday deLIGHTS

The addition of a dedicated electrical source in October, gave the Friends of Ned Wolf Park our first opportunity to add holiday lighting.

We chose a design strategy that was easy to install & to dismantle. It offers big impact for both motorists

& pedestrians. There's very little to store, and it is cost effective.

The first component of our concept uses borrowed tomato cages which are inverted and strung with mini-light strings. Our grove of ten conical trees creates a landscape statement in the ornamental gardens that give Ned Wolf Park its distinctive character. Just as the traditional growing season has come to an end, this new "planting" should remind our community that our park is a worthwhile destination year-round

 (especially with our very active Little Free Library that continues to stay well stocked by our neighbors!)

The other element that is especially effective for pedestrians is the constellation of laser light stars in green and blue. Projected onto the party wall at the back of the park as well as on the walk and tree branches, these slow moving points of light evoke fireflies or snowflakes. The photo barely begins to capture the effect.

The lighting operates on an eight hour daily cycle that starts with a daylight sensor.  Already we have received rave reviews from children and adults who are excited by the magical celebration of light in winter, event though that season has yet to begin.

Our "evergreen trees" are surprisingly innocuous during daylight hours.