Welcome to May's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.  This month some young Canada Geese bid you a warm welcome.
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Greetings
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Hello everybody and welcome to the latest issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. This month marks the 7th anniversary of Whispers! We are not sure where the time has gone or why it went by so quickly, but here we are, seven years later. Over the years we have presented hundreds of photographs, as well as lots of trivia, numerous tips and ideas and a whole bunch of jokes.
Many thanks for subscribing and being part of our project. We hope you'll enjoy this issue.
 Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and feedback. |
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Trivia Time
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Which shellfish can survive in polluted water?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
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What's This? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know what this cropped close-up photograph is?
For more of this type of mystery solving,
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| New Features at the Inn
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Here are the latest additions at the Inn. Just click on the images and you'll be taken straight to the page. At-A-Glance Guide to Edible Berries
The plants in this pictorial guide produce berries that are edible, but not always tasty!  Celebrating Earth Day 2014We received a wonderful response to our 6th annual Earth Day Photographic Extravaganza. 
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Contributed by...
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This month we have another super selection of amazing nature photographs.
These Texas Bluebonnets come from Jane and Walt, Red Gate Farm, Texas.
Jane and Walt also captured these delicate Turk's-caps, Malvaviscus drummondii. 
William Snyder of Salem, Illinois spotted these
magnificent White Pelicans near the Mississippi River.
 This rather serious-looking little Leaf Green Tree Frog, Litoria phyllochroa,
comes to us from John Slaughter of Brisbane, Australia.
William Snyder also sent in this Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta. We'd really like to thank William, John, Jane and Walt for taking the time to contribute to this section. We really appreciate your wonderful pictures. If you would like to see your nature images in our members' section, simply send us an e-mail. We'd love to hear from you. |
| Monthly Selections
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Here are this month's choices: Bug - Oenothera biennis | Wildflower - Common Evening-primrose| Bird - Black-throated Gray Warbler   
Simply click on the images to visit the pages.
You can also check out the archives as they're just a click away:
Wildflower Archives | Bug Archives | Bird Archives
OUR MONTHLY PAGE
Do you know what a universal veil is? You will after visiting Understanding Mushrooms - an informative feature that'll explain the difference between stipes and gills as well as pores and spores in an effort to better appreciate all of those fungi.
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| The Wandering Image
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This month we wander through a delightful tropical forest in Hawaii where there's always so many fascinating plants.  The Candle Tree, Parmentiera careifera, produces strange and unusual fruit that really do resemble candles hanging down from the branches. These long berries can grow up to 2 ft/60 cm long. The Candle Tree is native to Panama. |
| Caption This!
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What do you think these two Wood Ducks are saying to each other? We'd love to receive your caption. As always, we've given you a couple of ideas to help get your brain working.
Number one: "What exactly are we looking for again?"
Number two: "Are we really supposed to eat this stuff? Yuck!"
If this month's photo inspires you, please send us your caption in an e-mail.
We'd love to hear from you and add your caption to our collection.
You can visit the rest of the collections at the Inn:
The Mammals| The Birds | The Insects
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Snippets in Nature
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This month, Margaret Straley from Spencer, Roane County, West Virginia takes us to enjoy some beautiful scenery from along the Beartooth Scenic Highway in Montana and Wyoming. This is Pilot Peak, a towering pinnacle some 11,708 ft/3569 m high located northeast of Yellowstone National Park.
If you think you have a suitable nature photograph for this section please send us an e-mailalong with a brief explanation. We look forward to your submissions. |
Behind the Name
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Pointed Mariposa, Calochortus apiculatus, is a beautiful member of the Lily family of plants. It has several other common names including Three-spot Mariposa Lily and Baker's Mariposa Lily. Therefore, the scientific name is extremely useful so that people know exactly which species of plant is being discussed. The genus name, Calochortus, comes from the Greek word kallos which means "beautiful grass."
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A young marmot had just passed his driving test and he asked his father if he could use the car.
"You bring your grades up, study your Bible and get a haircut first," his father said to him.
After a month the eager young marmot again asked his father if he could use the car.
"I see you have brought you grades up, you've studied the Bible but you didn't get your haircut!"
The young marmot replied, "I've been thinking about that. Samson had long hair, Moses had long hair, Noah had long hair and even Jesus had long hair."
To this his father replied, "Yes, and they all walked everywhere they went."
"I didn't think about that." |
| Notes, News and Tips from Around the Inn
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Facebook
 We invite you to post comments on our Facebook page. To visit, just click on the logo or here.
GuestbookWe recently added a guestbook to the Nature Inn and welcome your comments on your next visit. You can also find it here. 2014 Earth Day Photographic Extravaganza
 Many thanks to everyone who sent in photographs to celebrate Earth Day. We invite you to check out the great pictures by clicking here.
After putting food out for your visiting birds throughout the winter months, it's a good idea to continue doing so through May. Parents with their new-born chicks will appreciate finding a little bit of extra food for them to feed their young ones. Tips from the Inn
For many birds nesting season is in full swing. It's amazing what birds like to use to build their nests. After a spring storm blew some lichen-laden branches off a tree, we secured them to the feeding station. This Chestnut-backed Chickadee really seemed to appreciate its lucky find.
Picture of the Week  Be sure to drop by the Inn every week to see the latest Picture of the Week. You can also do so by clicking on the image to the left or by clicking here.
Past Issues
We upload past issues of Whispers as new ones are issued. You can view them all with a simple click here.
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Celebrating Nature
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This is the time of the great migration across North America.
International Bird Migratory Day is actually a two-day
celebration and awareness campaign promoting the
need to protect migratory birds and their habitats.
This year it all happens on May 10-11.
Click here for more details.
On May 22 be sure to help spread awareness and appreciation of
the diversity of nature as it's the International Day for
Biological Diversity. Click here for full details.
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Did You Know...
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Did you know that the mink hunts on land but is also a very capable swimmer and can dive as deep as 16 ft/4.9 m? Its long, slender body allows it to hunt underground in burrows.
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State and Provincial Symbols
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The state of Idaho has an official fruit: the Huckleberry.
Several Huckleberry species are native to the state.
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Trivia Answer
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Mussels are able to survive in polluted water. They have a
fascinating and amazing ability to purify bacteria, fungi and viruses |
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What's This?
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This month's mystery close-up is some Seersucker Kelp,
Costaria costata, an interesting looking seaweed. |
| Nature Notes
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Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We hope you've enjoyed our newsletter for this month and that you'll forward it on to your nature-loving friends. Until next time may you enjoy many wonderful encounters of nature.
We hope you'll watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox in June. See you then! |
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