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Welcome to the summer's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
Sunrise and low tides on the Oregon coast welcome you to this month's newsletter. |
Greetings
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Hello once again everyone and welcome to Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your cyber nature centre where we celebrate nature and photography.
We hope that you're enjoying the summer and have some opportunities to explore, relax and appreciate nature wherever you may be.
Than you for subscribing to our newsletter and being part of this project.
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Trivia Time
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Which North American mammal has a blue tongue?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
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What's This?
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Do you know what this mysterious close-up could possibly be? 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 features at the Inn we hope you'll enjoy. Clicking on the images will take you straight to the page. Birds of the Month Crosswords
We've chosen several birds that have been featured as a Bird of the Month over the years and created two new interactive crosswords:
Marine Life At-A-Glance Guide
We've spent a lot of time recently down at the shore line and exploring tidal pools and have been able to expand our Marine Life Guide.
Find latest additions on the news page. |
Contributed by... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We invite you to submit nature photographs to this part of our newsletter.
Marilyn Flanagan from Florida sent in this
super shot of a Wild Turkey she bumped in to.
Washington resident Steve Baran submitted this
close-up of a Black-capped Chickadee.
 And from frequent contributor, Margret Straley of Spencer, West Virginia, we have this beautiful photograph of Ragged-fringed Orchids. A huge thank-you everyone for taking the time and sending in your 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: Insect - Wasp Beetle; Wildflower - Gold Stars; Bird - Northwestern Crow.
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 |
| The Wandering Image
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This month we feature what appears to be an interesting abstract-looking piece of "art."
This fascinating bark was spotted in Sedona, Arizona.
The bark of the Arizona Sycamore is flaky with blotches of green, gray and brown. It's another example of some of the beautiful designs and patterns found in nature.
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Snippets in Nature ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ecola State Park in Oregon is a few miles north of Cannon Beach.
There are exquisite views and access points to the marvellous beaches.
 With numerous trails to explore and a large variety of bird life such as these pelicans, the is a nature lover's paradise. |
| Caption This!
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Do you have a humourous caption to go with this photo of a Canada Goose coming in to land? We've given you a couple of suggestions.
Number one: "Out of the way! Out of the Way! Move it!"
Number two: "I"m coming in! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!"
If you have any suggestions for additional funny captions, 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 |
Behind the Name
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Red-flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum, is a member of the gooseberry and currant group of shrubs. The flowers vary from pink to deep red, as the common name suggests. The species name, sanguineum, means "bloody," a reference to the colours of the flowers rather than anything violent. Eventually the red colours will disappear and blue-black fruit will be produced as shown below.  |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three mountains goats set off for a picnic and climbed up to a sunny alpine meadow. When they were getting ready to eat their sandwiches they realized that they had forgotten the drinks.
The youngest one said, "I'll go back if you promise not to eat the sandwiches 'till I get back." The other two quickly agreed.
A couple of hours went by and one of them said, "I wish he would hurry up. I'm starving!"
After another two hours the other goat said, "I can't wait any longer. Let's eat the sandwiches."
Suddenly the young goat jumped up from behind a rock and said, "If you do, I won't go!"
(I knew they would eat them.) |
| Notes, News and Tips from Around the Inn
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Reminder from the Inn
If you're out exploring, hiking and adventuring this summer don't forget that you never know what might be around the next rock or crevice. Be sure to be aware and alert as you don't want to disturb or upset anyone. This nesting seagull didn't seem too concerned, but other birds might be quite put out!
Tips from the Inn
Although hummingbirds are most often spotted darting and hovering about, they actually spend a lot of time at rest. If you have a hummingbird feeder you might want to attach a twig or small branch close by.
The twig will provide a welcome perch and resting spot for the hummer.
Here an Anna's Hummingbird, Calypte anna, rests for a moment between drinks and gives us a chance to snap a picture.
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. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that the Green Tree Frog, Hyla cinerea, is the
state amphibian of both Louisiana and Georgia? |
| Trivia Answer
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Which mammal has a blue tongue? The Black Bear. |
| What's This?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another mystery is solved:
Our close-up mystery photograph is a
Green Urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis.
How did you do? |
| Nature Notes
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Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading! Please spread the word about our project by passing on our website information to friends and other nature lovers. You can also forward this newsletter by clicking on the "forward e-mail" link at the bottom of this newsletter. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome. Send us an e-mail!
Until next time, best wishes from your friends at the Dereila Nature Inn - the Cyber Nature Centre for Nature Lovers. We'll be taking a bit of a break over the next few weeks as we try and get out and enjoy as much of nature as we can so watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of September. Have a wonderful, nature-filled summer! |
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