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Welcome to September's issue of the Dereila Nature Inn newsletter.
As we say "so long" to summer, Fireweeds which have gone to seed and changing
colours of leaves remind us that autumn is just around the corner.
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Greetings
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Hi everyone!
Welcome to another issue of Whispers, the newsletter of the Dereila Nature Inn - your virtual nature centre. We hope you've had a wonderful summer and were able to enjoy nature as much as possible. In this issue we have some great photo contributions as well as some trivia, tips and the latest additions to the Inn to tell you about.
Thanks for subscribing!
 Please join us on Facebook where we welcome your comments and ideas. |
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Trivia Time
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Which living organism can be 30 times to size of a blue whale?
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. 
Birds of North America Crossword Puzzle #9 - Big Birds
The birds in this crossword include large herons, birds of prey and other big birds.
State Reptiles
Here's a guide to the reptiles that have been chosen to represent the 26 states that have selected official reptiles. 
Shrubs At-A-Glance We have organised over three dozen images of various shrubs into our lates At-A-Glance visual guide |
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Contributed by...
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We invite you to submit nature photographs to this section. Once again we have some great shots to show you.
Twisted Trees from Jonathan Schunurr of Suwanee, GA.
Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, another great image from Marilyn Flanagan of FL.
 Painted Bunting at a Feeder, by Joyce Cahill, AK.
Thank you for your terrific 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 - Ichneumon Wasp; Wildflower - Pink Fawn Lily; Bird - American White Ibis.   
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 selection is called Living Waters and it takes you on a journey along the coast of the Pacific Northwest where you'll explore some of the interesting and diverse marine life.
To visit the page, just click here.
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| The Wandering Image
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This month we take a wander along the sea shore. 
This California Ground Squirrel found itself a really nice viewpoint. The small board it rests on was wedged into a cliff side some 60 feet or more above the sand below. From here it was able to survey everything around.
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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 do you think this Dark-eyed Junco is thinking or saying? 
Number one: "I'm much bigger than I appear on here."
Number two: "Wow. Am I ever handsome!"
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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In response to our request for submissions to this section, Eileen of West Lothian, Scotland sent in this picture of the River Tweed as it makes its lazy way through the countryside of Moffat, Scotland. 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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 The scientific name for Pine Drops is Pterospora andromedea. The genus name, Pterospora, comes from the Greek words pteron which means wing and sporos which means seed. This is in reference to the shape of the plant's seed. The species name refers to Andromeda, the princess of Greek mythology who was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster before being rescued by Perseus. However, it is not clear what any of the story of Andromeda has to do with this plant! |
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Joke of the Month ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A guy went into a bar with his raccoon and said, "I bet $50 that no one here has a musical instrument that my raccoon can't play."
Someone fetched an old guitar and the raccoon started playing it. The guy picked up his $50.
Next, it was a trumpet. The raccoon licked its lips and started playing wonderful jazz and the guy got another $50.
The bar owner went out the back and returned with a set of bagpipes.
"Now if your friend can play these, I'll give you $100," he said to the guy.
The raccoon took a look at the bagpipes, lifted them and turned them over and over.
The guy said, "What are you messing around for? Hurry up and play them!"
The raccoon replied, "Play them? I'm still trying to figure out how to get them out of the case."
"That's my clever dad." |
| 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
As berries are in full abundance at this time of the year, we want to remind you that it's now time to collect a few for the freezer. Store them in plastic bags for a few months. When winter arrives you will have some much-appreciated food for hungry birds at your feeding station.
Tips from the Inn
This month we have a little photo composition tip.
In the eyes of a judge at a competition, the photo above of California Poppies would do better than the one below. This is because the diagonal group suits the eye better. The main reason is that we are used to reading from left to right. Therefore we tend to view the picture from the bottom left and follow the poppies to the top right. Our eyes then tend to come back to the centre of the picture. Try it!
In this image our eyes again see things from the left, but about half-way up the side. When they reach the centre, they more or less stop. You really don't look at the top poppy. Try this as well and decide which you honestly prefer.
Photos Wanted!
We are in the process of completing our state reptiles page and are in need of images of the following:
Alabama Red-bellied Turtle; Desert Tortoise; Gopher Tortoise; Diamondback Terrapin; Three-toed Box Turtle; Snapping Turtle; Northern Black Racer; Loggerhead Sea Turtle; and Texas Horned Lizard. If you can help out with a photo of two, please let us know via e-mail.
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 wild Green River flows through the rocks in Nairn Falls Provincial Park in southwestern British Columbia. A short river of 25 miles/40 km, it flows into the Lillooet River which passes through the Coast Mountains and into the Pacific Ocean. |
Did You Know...
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Did you know that a hummingbird's egg is the size of a pea and that a typical
North American hummingbird beats its wings at a rate of over 3000 times a minute? |
| State and Provincial Symbols
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The Cactus Wren is the state bird of Arizona. It has an amazing ability to avoid getting hurt by the spines of cacti and even makes its nest on a cactus plant.
To see pictures of other birds chosen to represent the various Canadian provinces and American states, just click here. |
| Trivia Answer
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The Giant Sequoia Tree can grow to be many times bigger than a Blue Whale.
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| What's This?
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This month's mystery picture is a pretty easy one to guess, but you might have been challenged to identify it correctly as a Migratory Grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes.
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| Nature Notes
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Spread the Word ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We hope you've enjoyed this month's newsletter and that 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 October. See you then!
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