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Welcome to our monthly celebration of nature and photography! We hope you enjoy this issue's selection of jokes, trivia, photos and news.

MONTHLY PAGE

For our monthly page we have chosen the official insect page as it is now complete.
The completed page can be viewed by clicking here.
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CONTRIBUTED BY...
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Jim Noeninger of Shiloh in Illinois, submitted this image of two bison taken in Lone Elk Park near St. Louis, Missouri. Jim also sent in this elk swimming with the geese in the park.
This picture of an Anhinga drying its wings, was sent to us by one of our regulars, Marilyn Flanagan of Florida.		We have another submission from Holly D. Johns of Kennesaw in Georgia taken on her trip to Swaziland and South Africa.
This osprey and nest was taken along the Grand River in Ontario by Herman Veenendaal of St Mary’s, Ontario.		This moss-covered tree stump becomes a nursing log for a fern. It was sent by Albertina Pianarosa of Ottawa, Ontario.
Many thanks to Jim, Marilyn, Holly, Herman and Albertina for the wonderful nature photographs. If you have a nature image for this section, please let us know!.

WANDERING IMAGE


While wandering down by the sea, these Cormorants were spotted sunning themselves.

CAPTION THIS

What do you think would be a good caption for this photo of a Great Blue Heron?


Here are two of ideas:
#1 - "Hey, where are you? Come out of there!"
#2 - "You can't escape! I can still reach you down there!"

If this month's photo inspires you, please send us your caption in an e-mail.

Tony D. of Toronto sent in a good caption for last month's image of a chickadee.


"Hey guys! Look over here . . . I caught him! I caught him!"
Thank you Tony for joining in the fun.

SNIPPETS IN NATURE


The snippet this month comes from Judy Howle of Columbus, Mississippi.
These egrets were spotted in Inoue National Wildlife Refuge
in Mississippi, a favourite location of bird photography.

BEHIND THE NAME


Many plants are parasitic living on host plants. Indian pipe, Monotropa uniflor, is an example of a parasitic plant.
Parasite is from the Greek words para, meaning beside and sitos meaning, grain or food, which literally means "beside the food."

JOKE OF THE MONTH

___After being laid off from five different jobs in four months, Randy Raccoon was hired at a warehouse. Things went really well for a while, but one sad day poor Randy lost control of his forklift and drove it off the loading dock. ___Surveying the damage, the owner shook his head and said he'd have to withhold 10 percent of Randy's wages to pay for the repairs. ___"How much will it cost?" he asked. ___"About $4,500," said the owner. ___"That's great!" said Randy. "I've finally got job security."

"Everybody wants a bit of security."

NOTES, NEWS AND TIPS

Monthly Selections

Here are this month's choices:
Bird - Northern Shoveler | Wildflower - Plantainleaf Buttercup | Bug - Goldenrod Spider

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Click on the images to visit the pages.

Page Completed Our page of state reptiles is finally complete! You can see these fascinating snakes, turtles, lizards and other creatures by clicking here. A Little Reminder

This is just a little reminder for when you are cleaning up the garden and getting it ready for winter.
Be sure to leave some of the flower seed heads for the birds to enjoy during the coming months.

Tips and Ideas

When the birds start eating the berries in the trees, its time to harvest a few for the freezer.
Store them in the freezer for later serving to them when food is scarce.

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 If you want to see any of the past issues of Whispers, they are available here.

CELEBRATING NATURE

National Wildlife Day is celebrated on September 4th  Click here for more information.		World Animal Day happens around the planet on October 4. This is a day to recognize the important role that animals play in our lives and how much our lives are enriched by animals. Click here for details.

DID YOU KNOW....


Did you know that the state of Louisiana is nicknamed the Pelican State?
The Brown Pelican is the state's official bird and a family of White Pelicans is featured on the state flag.

STATE AND PROVINCIAL EMBLEMS


The beautiful state of Colorado's official tree is the Blue Spruce, Picea pungens.
See all the state and provincial trees by clicking here.

TRIVIA ANSWER


Nimbus is a Latin word meaning rain cloud or storm.

ANSWER TO WHAT'S THIS?


The mysterious close-up image is Scouring Rush, Equisetum hyemale.

Thanks for joining us this month! We hope you enjoyed this issue of Whispers. We invite your comments and ideas - just drop us an e-mail. See you next month!

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