Do you ever arrive early for an appointment and decide to kill a few minutes by taking a walk? That is what I did on a lovely August day when I had an interview with a Landis Communities representative at Leaman Woods, located on the south side of the Landis Homes campus. Following the path from Amaryllis Lane past the gazebo and around the bend, I discovered a setting that appeared to have been transported from Narnia or Hobbiton. One of the ash trees in the woods has been converted into a Little Free Library. Fitted with a bookcase and glass door, along with a peaked roof, the library also has six benches situated in front of it.

The Little Free Library was the dream of Don Ziegler and represents the efforts he and his wife, Priscilla, who oversees the Little Free Library, made to bring the enchanting location to Leaman Woods. Don, who is a member of the Friends of the Woods and Wetlands, was present when ash trees were being removed due to borer damage. He asked the workers to preserve more than 10 feet of one tree and to cut the top into a peak. He also asked for boards to be made from the trunk that was cut. With help from a resident who was a carpenter and the Landis Homes maintenance department, the tree was converted to a Little Free Library, which opened in May 2019.

Priscilla visits the Little Free Library on a daily basis, but every two weeks she replenishes the supply with donated books from residents and organizers of the yearly Landis Homes book sale, as well as local authors who write their own stories. "The idea is that it's a free library, and when you take the book, it's yours, or if you have something, you can donate it," explained Don. Each month, Priscilla removes books that have been in the library too long and takes them to Booksavers at the Ephrata ReUzit on State.

Priscilla noted that the weatherproof bookcase also contains books that are helpful in learning about the woods. "We have reference books people can borrow while they are in the woods and then put back," she said, noting that the books cover trees and birds. In addition, a photographer took photos of all the wildflowers found in the woods and created a book with their names for the library. "So, when you see the native flowers and you don't know what they are, you can take this along (to help identify them)," explained Priscilla.

Priscilla and Don reported that the year that the library opened it was featured on https://littlefreelibrary.org as one of the most creative libraries to open that year. Recalling the ribbon cutting at the opening of the library, Priscilla noted how the community united to create the special space. "All the people involved in putting this together - builders, the person who donated the funds for us to join the Free Little Libraries, the day care - there must have been 50 people here," she said.

Landis Homes is an affiliate of Landis Communities. More information may be found at http://www.landishomes.org.