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Welcome to December's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
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Greetings
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Hello everybody!
Welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. 2011 has been a busy year at the Inn with lots of new pages and features added. We really appreciate your support and also thank you all for subscribing to this newsletter. In this issue there's a photo tip for photographing mushrooms, a lovely river in Hawaii and lots of super nature photos we hope you'll all enjoy.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which wildflower, once classed as a weed, was crossed with another flower in 1890 creating the Shasta Daisy?
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? You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
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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. Bugs of the Month Crossword 2
This is another crossword featuring a selection of bugs of the month.  Berry Feeder
This project makes an interesting feeder in which you can hang berries.
 Find the latest additions on the news/updates page.
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Contributed by...
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We invite you to submit nature photographs to this section. This month we have another super variety of nature images. Trillium Cuneatum
Jonathan Schnurr, Suwanee, Georgia.
Great Egret (both photos)
Susan Asis, Flushing, New York
Female Northern Cardinal
Steve Slayton, Lawrenceville, Georgia
Green Anole
Marilyn Flanagan, Florida
Action short of a bear shaking off water
Herman Veenendall, St. Mary's, Ontario
We really appreciate your contributions. Many thanks, everyone! 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!
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| Monthly Selections
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Here are this month's choices: Bug - Common Whitetail Dragonfly; Wildflower - Western Coralroot; Bird - Evening Grosbeak   
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
Autumn was mushroom season which reminded us of a feature called "Understanding Mushrooms" - an article about stipes and gills, pores and spores.
Visit the page by clicking here.
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| The Wandering Image
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Our wanderings this month took us down into the west coast rain forest where we came across a pretty little wildflower. 
The Western Trillium is the only wildflower protected by law in British Columbia.
Here it was spotted growing in a most unlikely place: amongst the rotting remains of a fallen tree.
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| Caption This!
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Here's our monthly image ready for your humourous caption along with a couple of our ideas.
Number one: "Hurry up! Get your skates on." Number two: "When is it spring?"
If this month's photo inspires you, please send us 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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A White-tailed Deer family enjoys the wetlands in Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in central Mississippi, one of over 500 wildlife refuges in the United States. Thanks to Judy Howle of Columbus, Mississippi for the image. If you think you have a suitable nature photograph for this section please send us an e-mail along with a brief explanation. We look forward to your submissions. |
Behind the Name
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 It was once believed, for some reason or another, that Orange Hawkweed, Hieracium aurantiacum, helped improve a hawk's vision which explains this plant's common name. This belief is also revealed in its scientific name. Hieracium comes from the Greek word hierax ("hawk") and aurantiacum means "orange-coloured."
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A Muscovy Duck went into the bar and asked the bartender for seven drinks. It downed them one after the other, bam, bam, bam!
The bartender was amazed and said, "I've never seen anyone drink like you do."
The duck looked up and said, "You'd drink like I do if you had what I have."
The bartender, feeling sorry, asked what he had.
The duck smiled and said, "Twenty cents."
"Gotta get them any way you can."
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| 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.
A Little Reminder
 Be sure to keep those water dishes ice free and topped up with fresh clean water. Birds really need a supply of water when frosty, snowy days arrive.
Tips from the Inn
One of the harder things to do when looking at a mushroom is seeing its underside. The underside can be very important when identifying some species. With very small specimens like this one which is about an inch high, seeing the underside without picking the mushroom is virtually impossible.
A mirror can be useful in a couple of ways. First of all, you can see the underside and secondly you can take a photograph if you can position the mirror to get a good reflection.
Go in as close as possible with your camera, frame the mirror and snap the picture.
After cropping the photograph you can get a reasonable image without disturbing the fungi.
Bird Food Recipes
Want to make some Bark Butter or Chickadee Pudding? We have lots of interesting recipes for making bird food for your bird feeding station. Check them out by clicking here. Also, if you're wondering which food attracts which birds, we have a handy guide ready for you here.
Photo Notecards Now on Sale!
To help pay for the costs of running the Inn website and providing this newsletter we are now selling a selection of blank photo note cards. We have two sets - birds and special places and will be adding more in the future. They cost only $3 each or a real deal at 4 for $10 with free postage! For more information and to place an order using PayPal, please click here.
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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Great Rivers
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Kinihapai Stream flows magically through beautiful Iao Valley State Park on the Hawaiian island of Maui. This peaceful scene was once the site of violent tribal battles.
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Did You Know...
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Did you know the spectacular peacock is the official bird of India?
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| State and Provincial Symbols
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The chatty Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos, is the state bird of five states: Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
To see our collection of state and provincial birds just click here. |
| Trivia Answer
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The Oxeye Daisy was crossed with another flower to create the Shasta Daisy. |
| What's This?
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This month's close-up image is a Bald-faced Hornet. How did you do? Here's another shot of it. 
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| 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. We'd like to send everyone our very best wishes for the holiday season and much happiness in 2012.
Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of January 2012. See you then!
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