Welcome to October's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
An inviting path in the autumn forest greets you this month.
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Greetings
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It's another month and time for another edition of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. The seasons are changing and there are so many lovely autumn colours to admire and enjoy. Many birds are moving and migrating to their winter homes; nature seems to be very busy with preparations for winter.
We'd like to thank you for subscribing and supporting our project. We hope you 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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Before mutiny hit the HMS Bounty, what was Lieutenant Bligh's mission?
You'll find the answer at the end of the newsletter. |
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.
Close-ups in Nature 18
Can you figure out what these thumbnail images are?
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Contributed by...
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Once again, we're thrilled with the wonderful images
that have been submitted for us all to enjoy.
This adorable doe and her fawn in the woods comes from Jim Noeninger, Shiloh, Illinois. Rosemary O'Connell of Ottawa, Ontario, spotted this American Robin eating berries in her garden. 
These stunning colours of autumn were captured
by Tony in Toronto, Ontario.
 It was early fall in Canada's capital when Albertina Pianarosa of Ottawa, Ontario, snapped these changing maple leaves.
Frequent contributor Joyce Nolan of Lancaster, Ohio spotted
this Green Heron having a little scratch.
This handsome Lark Bunting comes to us from
Tom France, Fort Collins, Colorado.
We send our thanks and appreciation to Tom, Joyce, Albertina, Tony,
Rosemary and Jim for sending in these wonderful photographs for us to all enjoy.
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 - Celery Leaftier Moth; Wildflower - Alpine Marsh Marigold; Bird - Bar-headed Goose   
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
A Stroll Along the Beach is an exploration of tidal pools
an rocks along the edge of the sea.
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| The Wandering Image
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In this month's wanderings we spotted this little fellow.  A juvenile American Robin easily blends in with the changing autumn leaves. |
| Caption This!
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What do you think would be a great caption for this photo?
As usual, we've given you a couple of ideas.
Number one: "I wish there was an easier way."
Number two: "Look out below! Lunch is coming down!"
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.
We loved the caption that Laura Simmons sent in for last month's photo.
"Could you speak a little louder, please?"
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Snippets in Nature
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In the lush rainforest of the beautiful Hawaiian island of Maui, a forested cinder cone called the Iao Needle rises magically 1,200 ft/365 m above the valley floor in Iao Valley State Park west of Wailuku.
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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 Prince's-Pine is an evergreen shrub with the scientific name
Chimaphila umbellata. The genus name Chimaphila comes from two
Greek words: cheima which means winter and philos, which means loving. |
Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two coyotes once got married. The groom asked his bride if he could have a drawer of his own that she would never open. The bride reluctantly agreed.
After ten years of marriage the wife noticed the drawer had been left ajar and she couldn't resist sneaking a peek. Inside she saw three golf balls and $100.
As she was curious, she asked her husband for an explanation.
"Well," he said, "every time I was unfaithful to you, I put a golf ball in the drawer."
Thinking that three times in ten years wasn't that bad, she asked, "But what about the $100?"
"Whenever I got a dozen balls I sold them!"
"I was just happily saving up for a rainy day." |
| 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.
InboxOver the years we've had lots of comments via e-mail and have complied many of them on our inbox page which you can find here. Bird Nestbox WeekOur first Bird Nestbox Week was in April 2013 and we are already thinking of the next celebration in April 2014. We invite you the send in any images of birds using or that used your nestboxes. You can find all the details here. A Little Reminder
Be sure to visit the butcher's section of your grocery store and
see if you can get a few pieces of suet. They are often given
away and the birds just love to peck at them. The suet can
easily fit into a suet cake feeder.
Tips from the Inn
This little jumping insect was spotted going under the petals of a flower making it really hard to get a decent photo.  To get the picture we had to carefully bend the flower over. It's not an easy process, but with a bit of patience things paid off. 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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Here are some of the celebrations of nature that are coming up.
National Wildlife Refuge Week is celebrated from October 13-19 in
the United States. There are hundreds of important wildlife refuges and
all play valuable roles in the lives of wildlife. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that the spectacular Wood Duck, Aix sponsa, nests in down-lined cavities in trees close to water? The young have to jump down to the ground or water. |
| Emblems and Symbols of the World
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The official fruit of Saskatchewan is the Saskatoon Berry,
Amelanchier alnifolia, after which the city of Saskatoon is named. |
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Trivia Answer
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Captain Bligh was on a voyage to pick up Breadfruit plants, Artocarpus altilis,
in Tahiti. He collected 1,015 and set sail for the West Indies. |
| What's This?
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This month's mystery photo is a discarded crab shell. |
| 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 during the first week of November. See you then! |
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