Welcome to Whispers     

Welcome to October's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.  
  
Welcome to Whispers  
You are welcomed this month by a delightful pair of Bushtits as they prepare for the upcoming winter.  The female is on the left.
Greetings
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Hello once again and welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre.
 
Thank you so much for subscribing!  In this issue we have some terrific photographs from contributors plus we also visit an alpine meadow and there's a joke about a couple of elephants as well as the usual tips, news and trivia we hope you'll enjoy.
Join us on Facebook
Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and feedback.
 
Trivia Time
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Which food produced in nature can last for centuries if stored properly?
 
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter.
What's This?  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do you know what this cropped close-up photograph is? It's an easy one this month! The answer is at the end of the newsletter.

Close-ups In Nature  

For more of this type of mystery solving, be sure to visit our pages of Close-ups in Nature.
  
  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. 

Close-ups in Nature #13
Here are ten images that have been zoomed in and cropped.  Can you figure out what they are?
Click to visit    

Walk in the Wild - The Birds
There are two more pages in our series of photo and fact pages about birds.
 Click to visit  Click to visit
Find the latest additions on the news/updates page.
Contributed by...
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We invite you to submit nature photographs to this section. We hope you enjoy this month's terrific selection.
 
Contibuted image 
This fascinating image of a dragonfly was taken
by Claudia Gregoire of Glenville, New York.

  

Magnificent White-tailed Deer from regular contributors,
Frank and Sandra Horvath of Grimsby, Ontario.
 

 

This beautiful photo of a Queen Butterfly, Danaus gilippus,
was sent in to us by Jane from Red Gate Farm, Texas.   

 

 

This Scarab Beetle, with its amazing colour, was sent in by Rosemary O'Connell
of Ottawa, Ontario.  It was taken in National Capital Trails, Ottawa.

 

  

 This handsome Red-headed Woodpecker was submitted by
Herman Veenendall of St Mary's, Ontario.
     

Thank you so much for submitting these great photographs!
We really appreciate your submissions.


   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 - Thread-waisted Wasp; Wildflower - Sitka Valerian; Bird - Brown-headed Cowbird
 
Bug of the Month - click to visit           Wildflower of the Month - click to visit          Bird of the Month -  click to visit      
 
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's selected page is called The Berry Patch and features a huge variety of colourful berries from many different shrubs.  You can visit the page by clicking here.

Click to visit     

Evergreen Blackberry, Rubus laciniatus

The Wandering Image
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This month we wandered up into the Rocky Mountains.

Wandering Image  
This colourful meadow of alpine and other flowers was taken
high in Mt. Revelstoke National Park, British Columbia.
Caption This! 
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Here's our image ready for your humourous caption along with a couple of our ideas. This month we have an unusual picture of a Northern Flicker.
 

Caption needed!  


Number one: "Look out!  Here I come!"
Number two: "Ouch! Who put this tree here?"
 
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
 
Snippets in Nature
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Snippets in Nature  


This is Middle Lake in Alberta's Bow Valley Provincial Park which is a place of water, forests and meadows, nestled between the Rocky Mountains and the foothills.
 
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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Behind the Name   

Partridgefoot or Creeping Spiraea has the scientific name Luetkea pectinata. The genus name of this member of the Rose family of plants honours a Russian explorer and sea captain from the 19th century, Count F. P. Lutke. The species name refers to the structure of its leaves and means "with narrow divisions."  The leaves also look like the shape of the footprint of a partridge, hence its common name.

Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     An elephant couple was starting to forget things so they decided to take a power memory class to help improve the situation. A few days after the class the old elephant was telling his neighbour how much the class helped him.
    "What was the name of the instructor?" asked the neighbour.
    "Oh, ummmm, let's see," the elephant pondered.  "You know that flower, the one that smells nice but has prickly thorns?"
    "A rose?"  suggested the neighbour.
    "Yes, that's it," replied the old elephant. He then shouted to his partner, "Hey, Rose.  What's the name of the instructor we took the memory class from?"
           

   Joke of the Month 

"I would have remembered."
Notes, News and Tips from Around the Inn
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Facebook
Find us on FacebookWe invite you to post comments on our Facebook page.  To visit, just click on the logo or here.


A Little Reminder
Tips from the Inn 
It's time to think ahead and collect a few berries for those berry-eating
birds who have a hard time finding food during harsh weather.
  
Stash the berries away in the freezer and then when the snows arrive simply
hang some out at your bird-feeding station.  They will be much appreciated!

Tips from the Inn

Tip  

 If you have hummingbirds that visit during the snowy months, it's a good time to get prepared by placing a cover above your hummingbird feeders to keep them free from the snow.  For full instructions, check out our project page here.
 

Tip 
Tip
The hummingbirds will be extremely thankful!  

   

Picture of the Week  

Click to visit 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 

Great Rivers 

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Great Rivers   

In southwestern Alberta, the Sheep River flows through the wilderness of Kananaskis Country, tumbling over rocks and cliffs as it goes.  It continues across the foothills into the Highwood River and gradually into the Bow River and across the prairies, eventually draining into Hudson Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.
  
Did You Know... 
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Did you know image  

 Did you know that Mute Swans place their legs up on their backs to help control their temperature?

State and Provincial Symbols 
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State/provincial Emblem Image   

The states of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee have all selected the Mockingbird as their official state bird. You can see other state and provincial birds by clicking here.

Trivia Answer 
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Trivia Answer   

If stored correctly, honey can be kept for hundreds of years.
What's This? 
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What's this answer  

Our mystery image is the Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio rutulus
Nature Notes
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Visit the Wildflower Garden by clicking here.     

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. 

Watch for the next issue of Whispers in your inbox during the first week of November. See you then!