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Welcome to June's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
These fascinating and colourful Green Anemones bid you welcome this month, which is also a great month to explore tidal pools if you're lucky enough to have some nearby.
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Greetings
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Hello everyone and welcome to the June's issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. Once again we have a great selection of photos, trivia, tips and news for you. Many thanks for subscribing and helping make this project the success if has grown to be. We hope you enjoy this month's issue.  Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Unlike most insects, which female insect watches over her eggs until they hatch and then protects the young nymphs?
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 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. 
Easyloader Tip
Here's an idea that makes filling suet log feeders a lot less messy.
 Close-ups in Nature 7This is the seventh selection of ten cropped mystery photos for you to try and identify.
Close-ups in Nature 8
Another ten mysterious photos are waiting for you to identify.
At-A-Glance Guide to Rushes and Sedges
We have started to organize our collection of Rushes and Sedges into a new At-A-Glance Guide.
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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 great selection.
Our Scottish friend Eileen submitted this fun photo of a couple of weasels.
Eileen of West Lothian, Scotland, also sent us this beautiful kingfisher.
 Laura from South Edinburgh, Scotland, contributed
this pretty and beloved European Robin.
This dramatic shot of Oyster Mushrooms was sent in by our
regular contributor, Jonathan Schnurr, Suwanee, Georgia.
Albertina Pianarosa from Ottawa, Ontario, captured this amazing fungi image
which was taken in the 1000 Islands area on the St. Lawrence.
Thank you so much for your super shots!
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 - Paper Wasp; Wildflower - Pacific Waterleaf; Bird - Northern Pintail.   
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
This month we'd like to highlight one of our pages featuring birds. This is a simple photo gallery featuring a large variety of different bird eyes. To check it out, click here.
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| The Wandering Image
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Wandering through a trail in the woods we came across a lovely sight.  The Great Horned Owl isn't often spotted during the day as it hides away and comes out at dusk to hunt. This one was very much awake and was actually being harrassed by other birds which didn't seem to appreciate its presence as much as we did.
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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.
Just what could these two Turkey Vultures be saying?
Number one: "Wotta we gunna do, then?"
Number two: "How much further are we going? My feet are killing me." 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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Devils Tower, submitted by Margaret Straley, Spencer, Roane County, WV. Devils Tower rises suddenly above the grasslands and forests in Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming. This curious feature stands 1,267 feet (386 m). It is also known as Bear's Lodge and is considered a sacred site by the tribes of the Plains people.On a separate note, when the national monument was created, a clerical error left the apostrophe out of the word Devil's which was never corrected, hence the punctuation flaw in the name. If you think you have a suitable photograph please send us an e-mail along with a brief explanation. We look forward to your ideas and submissions.
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Behind the Name
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 Lepidoptera is the name of the order of insects which includes butterflies and moths including this stunning Anise Swallowtail. The name mean "scale wing" and comes from the Greek words "lepis" for scale and "ptera" meaning wing. The scales in this case are tiny and powdery and give the butterflies and moths their colours. |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A man bought a parrot and for two years it never uttered a word. Every morning the parrot waited for the man to come and feed it.
One morning, the man overslept. The hungry parrot pried the cage door open, flew out and perched on the man's head. Pecking at its owner's nose the parrot said, "Excuse me, but it's nearly noon and I'm starving."
The man jumped up, "Polly, you can talk!"
"Of course I can talk," said the parrot.
"Then why haven't you said anything for two years?" asked the man excitedly.
"Because up until now, the service has been excellent!"
"It was my cousin, not me."
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| Notes, News and Tips from Around the Inn
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Facebook
 We invite you to post comments, suggestions and participate in discussions on our new Facebook page. To visit, just click on the logo or here.
A Little Reminder
June is the month of low tides, so if you live near the coast it's time to go to the beach and explore. Look into the tidal pools, under rocks and seaweed. You will be astonished at the variety of marine life that is easily observed.
Tips from the Inn
 If you hang a log feeder on your deck or balcony you might find attaching a small plastic tray to the bottom to be useful in catching bits of suet that get pecked off. Simply use a plastic planter saucer from a garden centre. They come in a variety of colours and we suggest one with a six-inch diameter which leaves lots of space around the log.
Drill a small hole in the centre of the saucer. Doing this on a hard surface like a piece of scrap wood prevents any cracking. Drilling two or three extra holes just inside the rim allows for rainwater to drain out. Attach the saucer right side up to the bottom of the log with a screw. It can be easily removed later for cleaning.
Photos Wanted!
We are still in search of a few butterfly images to complete our state butterfly page. If you can contribute any of the following, it would be appreciated.
Arizona: Two-tailed Butterfly; Arkansas: Diana Fritillary; New Hampshire: Kramer Blue Butterfly; New Mexico: Sandia Hairstreak; Wyoming: Sheridan's Green Hairstreak. You can see the page by clicking 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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The Yukon River is one of the mighty rivers of the north. It starts in Northwest British Columbia and flows through Canada's Yukon Territory then slices Alaska into half twisting its way through the state to the Bering Sea. It is almost 2,000 miles/3,200 km in length making it Alaska's and the Yukon Territory's longest river. In this picture, the wild Yukon flows near Whitehorse, YK. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that when ocean tides are at their highest they are called spring tides and when they're at their lowest they're refered to as neep tides? |
| State and Provincial Symbols
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Only one of the Canadian provinces or territories has an official insect, but
43 America states do and 16 of them have chosen the Honey Bee.
You can view our collection of state insects by clicking here. |
| Trivia Answer
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The female earwig, Forficula auricularia, looks after her eggs and young.
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| What's This?
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This month's mystery picture was the top of a Honey Mushroom, Armillaria mellea group.
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| Nature Notes
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Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We hope you've enjoyed this month's newletter and we hope you'll forward it on to your nature-loving friends. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome, send us an e-mail.
Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of July. See you then!
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