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W e i n v i t e y o u t o t e l l y o u r f r i e n d s a b o u t N a t u r e F r i e n d .
L e t ’ s T a k e a H i k e
Do you have a beautiful nature phototo share? Send to: Let’s Take a Hike
4253 Woodcock Lane Dayton, Virginia 22821
This black bear appears to be contemplating whether or not to have photographer for lunch. Austin, I’d start looking for a back door. —The Editor
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Light winds rustled the few remaining leaves on the trees lining our path. The annual Christmas
Bird Count was underway, and we were up early listening for owls.
From our back porch earlier this morning, I had gotten an Eastern Screech-Owl to answer my feeble attempt at imitating their “whinny.” We had our first bird for today’s count!
Now as we moved farther from our vehicle, we heard the “Yeoow” call of a Barred Owl. About two miles and ten minutes later, as the eastern sky brightened, a Great Horned Owl answered our calls, then flew within maybe 40 yards/meters, and perched in a tree. We all got great looks at this “Tiger of the Woods.” Meanwhile another Great Horned Owl called repeatedly from another direction.
A short section of the Juniata River was ours to cover today. Here we split the group for a time. Grandson Steven and another counter, Toby, walked upriver to where a path leads to the water’s edge. Within minutes they hurried back saying, “We didn’t find any waterfowl, but there are three otters!”
The birds could wait. We all wanted to see these graceful, sleek-looking animals. But, alas, they disappeared before we got there. All we found were two Winter Wrens and a good-sized bear track in the snow!
Back to counting birds, we tallied many Mallards, four Hooded Mergansers, a large gaggle of Canada Geese, several groups of Common Mergansers, Belted Kingfisher, and several sparrows and woodpeckers along the water’s edge.
Away from the river near some wetlands and open
fields we found a Ring-necked Pheasant, a Black Vulture, a few American Robins, many Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings, a Common Raven, lots of American Crows, Red-tailed Hawks, American Kestrels, and Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks. Someone spotted a beautiful red fox by a ravine.
In high weeds near a stream, we tallied six species of sparrows—Song, White-throated, Field, White-crowned, American Tree, and Swamp Sparrows—all within 30 feet (10 m) of the road.
On a nearby farm, we noticed a large flock of Horned Larks moving back and forth between fields. When they landed within sight, I quickly focused our spotting scope on these active field birds and found two Snow Buntings just before they took flight again. The other birders focused their binoculars on the birds in flight, and were able to pick them out by their white wing markings.
Taking a short break and eating our lunch, we tallied lots of sparrows, woodpeckers, and, best of all, a Brown Thrasher that had been around recently.
A very dark coyote flushed from a brushy stream bottom. It loped perhaps 200 yards/meters across open fields before disappearing into the woods.
Another bear track was found. Several times today we saw white-tailed deer.
The birds weren’t as active as sometimes. We did count over fifty species with our group, and nearly eighty species in the complete 15-mile (24-km) circle combining all the groups.
The otters, fox, coyote, the bear tracks, and the deer added some excitement to this enjoyable day with grandsons, friends, and neighbors.
Reminiscing Christmas Countby Aden Troyer
F o r Z e i s s , V o r t e x , a n d C e l e s t r o n b i n o c u l a r s o r s p o t t i n g s c o p e s , c a l l K e v i n 1 - 5 4 0 - 8 6 7 - 0 7 6 4 .
Let’s Take a Hike ...............................................2Reminiscing Christmas Count.........................3Invisibles ............................................................5Memories of the Christmas 2016 Ice Storm ....6Story Contest and Readers’ Issue Rules ...........8Pictures and Poems ...........................................9Wondernose ....................................................10Creation Close-ups .........................................12Mailbox ............................................................13You Can Draw, Mule Deer from September .................14You Can Draw a White-tailed Doe ................16Puzzle of the Dove ..........................................18My First Towhee ..............................................20Caption This ....................................................21Shadows ...........................................................22In Our Skies.....................................................23Making a Pole for a Purple Martin House ....24Super Plants! ...................................................26End of the Trail ...............................................27
To upgrade your Nature Friend subscription to the Study Guide edition, you may call toll-free 1-877-434-0765. Study Guides are $2 per month, and the subscription will be prorated to mesh with the expiration date of your Nature Friend magazine subscription.
ScavengerHunt
If you have subscribed for the Study Guide edition, the Study Guide is in the center portion of this magazine and has the following contents:
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FRONT COVER:Otter. Story page 3.
Exercises to reinforce learning from this Nature Friend Acrostic ............................................................. SG 1 Crossword Puzzle ............................................ SG 2
Fill-in-the-Blanks ............................................ SG 3True and False .................................................. SG 3For You to Research ......................................... SG 3
A Study in Nature; a Lesson in Writing Cruelty and Kindness of a Snowflake ............. SG 4 Writing Inspiration .......................................... SG 5Nature-friendly Gardening ................................. SG 6Camp & Cabin Cookin’ ....................................... SG 8Exploring Our Skies............................................. SG 10The Photo Critique Microscopic Snowflake Photography ............. SG 12Reader’s Photo...................................................... SG 16Answer Key .......................................................... SG 16
BACK COVER:It lynx like you can’t hide from me!Chloe Emmenegger.
Hidden in this magazine is a bear track, several deer tracks, and several bobcat tracks. On this page you can see what they look like; however, where they are hidden in this magazine, they may be any size and any color. So get your binoculars (or magnifying glass) and start searching!
I See It! from December
On page 8 you will see the rules for the 2019 Story Contest and Readers’ Issues. You will notice, too, there are rewards for some of the categories. One of the things Bethany and I have tried to do over the last years is to give more than is announced. Last year, for example, beyond the announced awards, several dozen 8x21 binoculars were given for submissions that did not otherwise get chosen for an award. We enjoy throwing in some surprises along the way.
With that background, I was in a store recently, and the clerk (who sold me the binoculars for awards last year) pointed me to some tackle boxes he would sell me at a special price. I quickly thought of giving them as surprise awards, so I bought all eight he had on the shelf. We are choosing from the submissions in this issue of Nature Friend, children to award with these boxes.
Thank you to all of you who keep submissions coming. We value them and look forward to seeing them.
Cardinal: Page 3Seeds: Page 7 (2)Owl: Page 9Mouse: Page 18
Inv
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Chickadee Stone Hoof track Mouse Eagle eye
Grouse Rabbit Antler Bone Evergreen
Published monthly and copyrighted © 2019 by Dogwood Ridge Outdoors, Inc.Nature Friend ISSN 0888-4862 upholds the principles of the inspired Word of God, high Christian family standards, Divine Creation (no evolution), and practical Christian stewardship of God’s creation.
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Nature Friend, USPS 764-730, is published monthly by Dogwood Ridge Outdoors, Inc. Periodicals postage paid at Dayton, VA 22821, and additional offices. Subscriptions are a contract agreeing we will ship a specific number of issues to the address specified with the order. We are not responsible for magazines that are missed due to address changes. The Postal Service will not forward your magazine unless you guarantee forwarding postage with your local post office. For those who do not give us sufficient notice or guarantee forwarding, we are happy to replace missed magazines by adjusting the expiration date to match the quantity of magazines we have contracted to ship. Otherwise, they may be purchased as back issues. Postmaster: send address changes to Nature Friend, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821. Volume 37 · Issue 1. Editors: Kevin & Bethany Shank; Circulation: Merna Shank; Mailbox Editor: Elizabeth Ann Shenk; Design: Kevin Shank.
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It was Sunday morning—Christmas Day—but we weren’t in church singing “Joy to the World.”
Due to the weather conditions, church had been cancelled. The forecast read that conditions would worsen toward evening.
Sure enough, by late afternoon, the wind was whipping up a storm. We began to hear the tinkle, tinkle of ice on the east windows. I didn’t give too much thought to it—the last major ice storm had been eleven winters before.
But then, very suddenly, the house went dark. No more electricity. There was a cautious scramble for flashlights and candles.
Occasionally after storms we had had short outages...and this might be another of those. I don’t think we imagined the drama of living without electricity for the next few days. We didn’t know that west of us the heavy ice combined with high winds had felled miles and miles of line.
And so, in a matter of a few hours, we were transported—in many ways—into the early 20th century...for the next four days. Our plans for the week were thwarted.
Almost immediately, Dad, because of his electrical experience, was in high demand. Call after call came in. With no wood-burning stoves like ours, people were in desperate need. They were unable to cook, and, without heat, the houses chilled fast. On top of that, this was Christmas, and some people had houses full of relatives. Late into Sunday night and all Monday morning, he gave advice and hooked up generators.
We ourselves had no generator. Our wood-burning stove became invaluable during that week. Sunday night, Dad put on a pot of water for his tea-loving family, and the next morning he boiled eggs. Mom
even “grilled” hamburgers on it! When the rest of the house grew chilly, we bundled up my one-month-old brother in his bassinet, and next to the stove he stayed cozy. For dishwashing and baths, we warmed large pots of water on it.
Although we had few candles, the ones we had were put to good use. Dad hooked an inverter to car batteries to charge flashlights and cell phones. We emptied the fridge into totes and set them outside. The freezers in our basement would be fine for a few days if we kept them closed, but we still spread blankets over them as additional insulators.
As was my normal custom, I jotted down notes in my journal:
Monday, December 26. The worst part is boredom. We can’t check e-mail...sew...run on the treadmill, etc. Even in the daytime it is too dark to do much in most rooms.
It was only a few days after winter solstice, so it was dark by about 5:00 in the afternoon. The darkness was thick...so thick. Usually, the yard light shone into my room at night. Now, one could not even see his own hand. Was this what it was like in Egypt when God sent the plague of darkness? There were few, if any, specks of light dotting the countryside at night. Was this how dark the nights are in Africa?
Nevertheless, I was delighted with the night sky. Since our yard light was off, I could see the stars without light pollution.
December 26. The most glorious thing about [no power] is the heavens. They are gorgeous! This evening I looked out to see their undefiled beauty…So bright! Orion! The Pleiades! No wonder David’s heart was nigh to burst with joy!
And a few days later:
by Megan Tschetter, 17, Revillo, SD
Memories of the Christmas 2016 Ice Storm
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Electricity is great! Dad and I went to town to do some shopping.
As we left the checkout at Menards, an older man tapped the breaker box in our cart. “Before you can use this, we need electricity!”
Dad agreed. We found out he was the owner of a small dairy a few miles from us. “The other night we milked the cows by hand. Ninety cows! We started at 6:00 p.m., and finished at 6:00 a.m.! Twelve hours…by hand! I was about dead!” We believed him.
On the way home, shards of ice, like millions of diamonds, sparkled innocently on the sides of the road. The effect was lovely, but I thought, too, of the disaster created by the same ice. Only days before, it had clung to the lines until they came crashing down—miles of them too. Now there it lay, quiet and unconscious of its deed.
December 29, 8:45. Still no power, maybe not today.
December 30, 3:00 am. Hallelujah! We have electricity! It is like going home after a long trip!
One hundred three hours without power. What a week!
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I found Andromeda! For the first time in about a month, I actually looked for and found that dear little galaxy—so small, yet so grand!
On Tuesday, our neighbor who was “fleeing Milbank as a refugee” lent us his generator and two oil lamps. The generator was too small for the whole house, but we could still alternately run the water heater, freezers, and lights.
Another friend stopped in. “You have no idea!” he exclaimed as he told of miles of downed power poles. “Up around Summit, they had 2-inch (5-cm) diameter ice on the lines! The metal poles snapped like twigs.”
Tuesday, December 27. Our dear little valley is in the news! Governor Daugard declared it a disaster. There have been planes flying over, and helicopters helping out.... There is no electricity for miles....
Whetstone Valley Electric announced the earliest we’ll get power will be Saturday.
Wednesday, December 28. The line men are repairing north to south. That means we will be about the last to get power.
That evening, three of my brothers assembled Lego® projects at the kitchen table. For the first time in probably years, I wrote in my journal downstairs—by a flashlight all four of us were sharing.
The amount of generators sold the last few days is phenomenal! [They] are sold before they even get to the store!
As if to add to the drama of the week, the weather was not exactly favorable. At first, the wind blew bitterly cold, making miserable conditions for the linemen. But as the temperature rose throughout the week, it became tricky to keep the food we stored outside at a safe temperature.
On Thursday, Dad came home with news. “There are trucks at the corner electric station! We may get power tonight!” Despite having enjoyed the “uniqueness” of the last few days, I was so excited!
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Nature Friend Magazine2019 May Story Contest
• Three winners from each of four age groups: 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17
• Write a story about a nature experience that happened to you or your family.
• Stories not chosen for this issue will automatically be considered for the June Readers’ Issue and/or other future issues.
2019 June Readers’ IssueWe want reader submissions (any age) from front cover through back cover, and everything in-between. This includes:
• *Front cover photo or art (+$50 certificates)• Let’s Take a Hike• *Birders’ Trail (+$15 certificates)• *Invisibles (art or photo) (+$15 certificates)• *Stories (+$15 certificates)• Pictures (art) and Poems• *Wondernose story (+$15 certificates)• *You Can Draw art lesson (+$15 certificates)• Creation Close-ups (photos)• *Learning by Doing (+$15 certificates)• Puzzles• End of the Trail • *Back cover photo or art (+$25 certificates)
There will be awards...• For story contest winners.• Nature Friend awards for features listed. • * = plus certificates from NWP and CLP.
Nature’s Workshop Plus$50, $25, $15 certificate
Nature’s Workshop Plus has a fun array of products for nature lovers. Visit their store at workshopplus.com, or call 1-888-393-5663 to order a catalog, or write to:
Nature’s Workshop PlusPO Box 425Danville, IN 46122
Nature FriendAwards:
1-540-867-0764• Except for the binocular we are
giving, other awards given by us will be kept a surprise, and they may vary.
We are choosing one submission to reward with a binocular. I predict this will be a hard decision.
Christian Light Publications$50, $25, $15 certificates
Christian Light Publications & Education has a large selection of story, activity, and devotional books, as well as educational materials. Call 1-800-776-0478, or go towww.clp.org.
Christian Light PublicationsPO Box 1212Harrisonburg, VA 22803-1212
Announcing...
+ +El
k: ©
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Do your best
We are giving
one away!
No-faultLifetime
WarrantyRetail $190
Who May Enter • Immediate family of
active subscribers.• To subscribe call
1-877-434-0765.
Preparing Submission • Write and rewrite until
satisfied you’ve done your best.• Edit photos for sharpness,
submitting only your best ones. High resolution digital files are preferred, when available.
• Label every piece of every submission with:• Name (and age, if a child)• Address• Nature Friend renewal code
(above name on mailing label)• Phone number
• If material is to be returned, include self-addressed, stamped envelope.
• Preferred format for e-mailed stories is .doc. PDF is second choice.
Submit now through 2-15-2019• Mail to applicable address:
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Bonus to one well-done submission:
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How to submit your art and poems. Use black ink, dark pencil, colored pencils, or paints on clean, unlined paper, and do not fold drawing. Send to Pictures and Poems, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821, or, scan at resolution of 300 and e-mail to [email protected]. Include your name and address. If you want your work returned (whether we use it or not), please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Space is limited, so it is not possible to publish every submission.
SunsetThe sunset’s beautyThrills me every night.Its shining splendorFills me with delight.
The fiery glowOf sun slips away,Leaving behind itAn awesome display.
The moon in the eastGleams bright and new;The sky grows bluer—A deepening hue.
The clouds are shining—Pink clouds that shimmer,Purple clouds glowing, Orange clouds that glimmer.
The river flows onAnd reflects the scene;Beside it the pinesTower dark and green.
And above the sky,Our God made the sight.“Thank You, dear God, forThe sunset tonight.
Charlotte A. Schrock, Unity, WI
Jonas Esh, Myerstown, PAAustin Mast
Bourbon, MO
Lorelle Zeiset, 13, Greenwood, WI
Steven Hostetler, 11, Watsontown, PA
Lindsey Bridgewater, Rozet, WY
Elisa Martin, 13Lebanon, PA
Ruth Berneking, 13, Sequim, WA
by Rebecca Martin
A.Q.Wildlife Wondernose Question #197
What mammal has a call that sounds like hammers striking anvils underground?
No, this is not the blacksmith frog, , though its call also resembles the ringing of hammers.
But notice I said the answer to our riddle is a mammal.
Narrowing things down for you, I’ll mention that our animal is a rodent. Yet that doesn’t really narrow the field very much. Did you know that the world contains a greater number of rodents than all the other mammals combined? Well, I’m not sure that is a fact either. Some sources say this. Others say maybe 40% of mammals are rodents. But in either case, there are a lot of rodents. They range from a 2-inch (4-cm) pygmy jerboa to the 100-pound (45-kg) capybara of South America.
So I am going to ask you this question: What is the one trait that all rodents have in common?
Right. They gnaw. All rodents have two pairs of
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front teeth, or incisors—one pair above and one below. Rodents do have molars as well, but they are far back in the mouth, and a gap separates them from the incisors.
The thing about these formidable front teeth is that they keep growing throughout the animal’s life. If not worn down, the teeth would grow right through the head and kill the animal! No wonder rodents gnaw.
Sorry. You want me to get back to our riddle. Well, this rodent lives in South America, and is found from Peru right down to the southernmost tip of the continent. There are many different species. They live at all elevations, from high in the mountains to down in the valleys.
This rodent has often been a boon to farmers by building soil health. How would a rodent do that? Its complex system of burrows loosens the soil and increases organic matter. What’s more, those burrows
In Pennsylvania Dutch (a language spoken by many
of our readers) the term “gvunanaws” (wondernose)
is used to describe someone who is curious about
everything around him. WonDernose asks lots
of questions to satisfy his or her curiosity. After all,
that’s a good way to learn, isn’t it?
WonDernose
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also help the soil retain water. If the soil is tight, rain will just run off; but soil crisscrossed by burrows will hold a lot of water.
At the same time, so many burrows just below the surface can be dangerous. Can you guess why cowboys are careful when riding their horses where burrowers have been busy?
So now you think that the answer to our riddle is the pocket gopher. But those live only in North America. It’s true that our mystery animal closely resembles the pocket gopher. Its stocky body is about 10 inches (25 cm) long. The limbs are short but powerful. However, our animal doesn’t have the pocket gopher’s trademark feature—those big pockets in their cheeks for transporting food. (In passing, , did you know that the gophers will turn their pockets inside out to clean them?) Furthermore, the pocket gopher has a much shorter tail than our mystery animal.
Color varies quite a bit from one species to another in our mystery rodent. Some kinds are dark brown, while others range right down the color tones to a creamy buff.
Their eyes are unusual. They are practically on top of their heads! Do you know how this helps the rodent? It is a shy, cautious animal, you see. Before leaving the burrow, it wants to check for danger. Having eyes positioned near the top of its head, it can take a look around without so much as sticking its nose out of the burrow.
By the way, our mystery animal has very good eyesight. That’s another way in which it differs from the gophers. Whereas gophers habitually act like I do when I’ve lost my glasses, this mystery rodent can detect movement up to 50 yards/meters away.
Ah yes. Our rodent’s name. Years ago an eloquent scientist who studied South American wildlife wrote this about the animal: “All day long and all night sounds its voice, resonant and loud, like a succession of blows from a hammer, as if a company of gnomes were toiling far down underfoot...” Why a rodent should find it needful to make incessant noise while
burrowing underground is a mystery to me. The noise must be sharp indeed if it filters up through the earth!
What I’m getting at, , is that our rodent’s name is supposed to sound like those ringing hammers. But do you know what? I think South American hammers must sound different from ours. Listen to the rodent’s name: tuco-tuco. Do you hear a hammer? There is a bit of rhythm to it though.
The tuco-tuco also has another name that’s not nearly as nice. Who would want to be called a mole rat? Yet its burrowing habits do resemble the mole’s. The tiny ears, cylindrical body, and powerful claws all indicate what a burrower it is. Also, the tuco-tuco’s incisors are unusually broad, and quite likely they’re used for digging too.
What does a tuco-tuco gnaw at to keep its fierce long teeth under control? Plants, mostly. It finds most of its food underground. A good provider, it has special storage chambers where it lays up tubers and roots for future use. Trouble is, tuco-tucos often store more than they need, and the food goes to waste.
Woe to the potato farmer whose field is invaded by tuco-tucos! If you were out watching, you might see whole plants disappearing underground as the rodents tug from beneath. So you see, there are two sides to the story. On the one hand, tuco-tucos are good for aerating and cultivating the soil. But on the other hand, they also want to partake of the good crops that can be raised in the soil they have renewed.
WonDernose
WonDernose
©Rafaelatomasi/iStockPhoto.com
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We invite you to submit your nature photos (digital file preferred) to: Creation Close-ups, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821 or
Josiah Waldner, Richland Center, WI
Erika Wildervanck, 12
Bowron Lakes in British Columbia
Melisa Gehman
Mary T. Nelson, 17, Bedford, TX
Do you have a nature experience you want to share, a question you’d like to ask, or a thought you want to share about something in Nature Friend? We want to hear from you! Write to: The Mailbox, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821, or e-mail [email protected].
A N S W E R S
Favorite recipes for
C amp & C abin C ookin’ ...seasoned with a pinch of story
C&CC is also a monthly feature in the Study Guide.
To add Study Guides to your subscription or order books:
Call 1-877-434-0765
Cookbook: $14.99 + 4.99 s/h. VA sales add 5.3% tax.
•Most recipes shown in photos.
•A few treats for feathered friends.
• Seasoned with a pinch of story.
•Four years worth of recipes.
•For fun, in the book we hid the ingredients to churn a batch of homemade strawberry ice cream—six eggs, measuring spoon of vanilla, strawberry, bag of sugar, a milk cow, and a nostalgic cream can.
Cecropia ExcitementDear Nature Friend,
About a month ago, we found a fat green caterpillar waddling around in the driveway. We share a driveway
with some neighbors, and we didn’t want them to run over the little fellow. Or should I say, big fellow?!
I can’t think of a good description of this slightly intimidating creature. Well, probably just one word would sum it up— “BIG.” And I’m not exaggerating! He was huge!!
We found out, to our great delight, that he was a cecropia moth caterpillar!
Ever since I read the “Mystery Cocoon” article by Margaret
include your readers. Thank you from me and my family.
Anna Boggs, 13 Rural Retreat, VA
Dear Anna,The moth will emerge from the cocoon
in late spring when heat and humidity develop.
Concerning the color of the cocoon changing from white to brown, I assume that is because silk, when it is formed, has a characteristic that changes with age. Perhaps it has a moisture content when formed by the caterpillar, that dries out as the cocoon matures.
Nature Friend
Keuning, August 2017 Nature Friend, I have dreamt of finding one. Now,
my dream had come true! I do have some questions and
comments. First, how long do cecropias
take to develop into moths and then emerge? We had some fuzzy little critters make cocoons in our playhouse this time last year, and they are just now hatching. We haven’t seen any moths from them, though.
Secondly, why do the cecropia cocoons start out white but turn brown upon completion?
I took a sequence of photographs as he spun a large cocoon in our young willow tree. He has now been a cocoon for about three and a half weeks. We are planning to get a mesh butterfly cage to place his branch in so that we are sure of having a chance to see him after he hatches.
We all look forward to the next issue of Nature Friend, and appreciate your non-evolutionary material and the way you
Answers to Super Plants!: Page 26P
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FOLLOWSUNUBAIT
CRCR
PITFALLTRAPHI
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a Mule Deer from September
Dianne Martin, 7Rochester, IN
Laney Price, 12Providence Village, TX
Stephanie Reiff, 15Savannah, NY
Clara Ridings, 12Austin, TX
Jabez Yoder, 10Mt. Carroll, IL
Annika Unrau, 14Austin, MB
Grace DuBose, 10Wingate, NC
Jesse Weaver, 10Beach City, OH
Allison Durling, 11Fallbrook, CA
Maryann Horst, 13Curtiss, WI
Brett Miller, 10Milton Freewater, OR
Iain Tallent, 8Richland, WA
Aurelius Angle, 11Panama City, FL
Mary Slavin, 7Crystal, MN
Latisha Hockey, 7Mareeba, QLD, Australia
Caleb Walker, 8Beaverton, OR
Oliver Allen, 13Elizabethtown, PA
Bethany Coghlan, 10San Antonio, TX
Ephraim Krawitz, 9Mount Juliet, TN
Aubrey Reeves, 11Fort Worth, TX
Salome Hanauer, 12Healy, AK
Owen Breakfield, 10Thornton, CO
Ellie Istre, 9Lancaster, SC
Winston Breakfield, 7Thornton, CO
Emerson Breakfield, 12Thornton, CO
Tyler Hockey, 16Mareeba, QLD, Australia
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Andrea Fisher, 10Bedford, PA
Eula Derstine, 18Brownsville, OR
Rebecca Westlake, 13Williams, AZ
Jonas Byler, 12Quaker City, OH
Karlin Hollinger, 11Spruce View, AB
Austin Tallent, 10Richland, WA
Tyndale Stroup, 6Karuizawa, Japan
Lydia Howard, 12Burlington, CT
Charlotte Fuerstenau, 10Grangeville, ID
Elaine Troyer, 12Holmesville, OH
Davis Reeves, 4Fort Worth, TX
Chloe Emmenegger, 15Toronto, ON
Katelyn Istre, 10Lancaster, SC
Esther Hoyt, 8Clifton, NJ
Madelyn Barten, 9Lindstrom, MN
Noah Polo, 13State College, PA
Samuel Havener, 10Suffolk, VA
Lily Brown, 9Homewood, AL
Hudson Stahl, 8Lititz, PA
Silas Laman, 11Pompton Plains, NJ
Hayden Kelleran, 9Eden Prairie, MN
Ethan Hockey, 5Mareeba, QLD, Australia
Rodney Peifer, 14Metter, GA
Brandon Roth, 7Earlham, IA
Tirzah Laman, 10Pompton Plains, NJ
Alessi Emmenegger, 13Toronto, ON
Abram Renno, 15Mifflintown, PA
Rochelle Horning, 13Leola, PA
Grant Adkison, 8Grand Junction, CO
Ellie Eason, 9Eldorado Springs, MO
Bonus page!
Lightly draw 1” grid lines onto your paper. Carefully sketch your deer, taking time to do it as accurately as possible. When you feel satisfied, trace over your lines with a black fine-tip marker.
Place card stock over your drawing and trace your deer and rocks at the window with a pencil. Faintly mark vertical tree lines only.
Layer the deer with light umber, dark umber, goldenrod, and some black. Do the rocks with the same colors. Do grasses and the small spruce later.
Now fine-tune your drawing. A little more black here, some gray there, more dark edges along the legs and rump, more defining on its head. Add more burnishing of goldenrod to blend colors. Remember, it’s these final details that make your deer look real and alive!
“Paint” in your background trees with chalks, using a sharp No. 6 shader brush with a blue-black combination. (I like to treat my wet brush by dipping
16 j a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 n a t u r e F r i e n d
a White-tailed Doe
you will need:4 Regular paper4 Card stock4 Pencil4 Black fine-tip marker4 Soft-lead colored
pencils
4 Acrylic paint4 Fine-tip brush #1 or
smaller (1/0-10/0)4 #6 shader brush4 Chalks or pastels4 Foam sheet
You may purchase art supplies from Nature Friend, 1-540-867-9516.
by Judy Kauffman
it into hair gel. Press firmly through your fingers to give it a chisel sharpness.) Brush MUST be dry before using with chalks. And ALWAYS test chalks on other paper to avoid messy crumbs that so easily splotch your sheet! “Dance” your evergreen strokes with back
and forth brushings for these trees. Add some soft black with the chisel tip for trunks and branches. You are aiming for a soft-hazy winter day.
With a No. 6 filbert shader, paint white caps on the rocks (or dab with a small piece of foam). Add a hint of blue for shadows. Then paint in dry grasses with brown, goldenrod, and a bit of black. Also give these grasses a bit of snow. Paint in the small spruce with your smallest brush (10/0 if you have it), using sap green and black.
You can do all this without paint, but it’s harder when you
can’t add details just by brushing over something.Does your deer snap out in clarity? Is his eye
shining with the vitality of health and energy? I hope you submit your drawing to Nature Friend!
Note: Color names vary, and you may not have the particular brush listed. Just adapt and do your best.
The colors of white-tailed deer vary between seasons and by location. The deer here in Maine are darker
(and often larger), but less plentiful than in southern states. When we see a deer, we exclaim, “Look, a deer!” But when Regina in New York sees one close to her home, she sighs. Her garden has suffered much!
Even so, everyone agrees that a white-tailed deer is graceful and incredibly lovely. My husband and I saw a doe and her fawn cross the lawn at Myron and Regina’s home! It made my morning extra beautiful.
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White-tailed Doe
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We invite you to send your completed drawing to us. Label it with your name, age, and address. Send to You Can Draw a Deer, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, Virginia 22821. If you would like it returned, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Or, you may scan art at a resolution of 300 and e-mail as a jpeg attachment to: [email protected]. Name the file: Deer-child’s name-age-city-state. We will select from all age groups, approximately 26 drawings for printing.
The January drawings will be featured in the May issue. Please return your drawing by February 15.
18 j a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 n a t u r e F r i e n d
White flashed on the wings of the departing dove. In passing the bird feeder, I had startled
it away. Now I stood watching its flight.I could see that it was a dove, and I was almost
certain it was a Mourning Dove. We had plenty of those around. But what about the white on its wings? It could well be that every Mourning Dove has that much white on its wings, and I had simply missed noticing it before....
On the other hand, perhaps it was a slightly abnormal one. Or it might even be another species of dove. That was an interesting thought, and I decided to check out the dove section of our bird book. Before long I was scanning the pictures of doves and was amazed to find so many different kinds. Up until now, the Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove were the only ones I was familiar with.
However, of the ten other kinds of doves and pigeons, none closely resembled the Mourning Dove. None, that is, except the White-winged Dove, and a
glance at the range map quickly ruled that one out. Southern California and Texas are rather far from our western New York home. So, I concluded, I must have seen a common Mourning Dove with extra white on the wings.
When I mentioned the strange bird to Mom, she replied, “Oh, it’s been coming to the feeder for most of the winter already. I decided it’s an extra-old one because of its whiter wings and larger size.”
After that I kept my eye on the bird feeder outside the kitchen window. “The Dove” was a regular visitor, and it wasn’t long until I noticed something else.
“She has orange eyes!” I exclaimed. That looked a bit strange. I inspected the eyes of another Mourning Dove, and that one had black eyes. Pure black eyes.
Strange....Then we discovered yet another thing—our dove’s
toes were black and shriveled as though frozen. Now I was really interested in this dove. The list of differences was lengthening: white stripe on edge of
Puzzle of the Dove
by Loretta Martin, Lyndonville, NY
wing, orange eyes, crippled feet, and slightly larger size. All this was puzzling. Why was the dove so different? A few pieces seemed missing from the whole picture.
By now this dove was almost like a friend. She needed a name, and not just any name would do, I decided. When Dottie was suggested, I discarded it. However, my sisters began calling her that, and eventually I did too. So, rather unofficially, our mystery dove was named “Dottie.”
One evening I decided to check in the bird book again, just to see if there was any dove with orange eyes. Up till now we’d just taken for granted that Dottie was an elderly Mourning Dove, which explained her few differences. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to check....
And there was that White-winged Dove again. And look! It had orange eyes. And yes, a white stripe on its wings. Its tail was shorter than a Mourning Dove’s, and upon investigation we found that Dottie’s tail matched the picture. But it couldn’t be! White-winged Doves live so far south. In spite of this contradicting fact, we concluded that Dottie was indeed a White-winged Dove.
What an exciting discovery! Somehow she must have lost her way and strayed north—perhaps in a storm. The thing I marveled over most was that of all feeders, she’d actually ended up at ours.
With this newly-discovered fact, the puzzle pieces began falling together. Coming from the warm, sunny South, Dottie was not accustomed to the cold, snowy North, where temperatures sometimes drop below 0° F (-18° C). No wonder her toes were frozen!
Time passed, and Dottie continued to be a regular visitor at our feeder. One by one, her frozen toes fell off, but even with her stubs of feet, Dottie survived. Then one day we noticed Dottie’s lower mandible was missing. Obviously, she had frozen her beak too. But even without it, she seemed capable of gobbling down sunflower seeds. Then her upper mandible dropped off as well! Now Dottie looked really pitiful.
But without a beak, could Dottie survive? She could still eat, but could she get a sufficient amount of water? Might it be possible that her beak would grow back? Anxiously we watched our feathered friend. Would she live?
The time came when Dottie no longer appeared at our feeder. After a week of no Dottie, we decided we’d never see our white-winged friend again. Either she had moved on or died, and we suspected the latter.
I was glad Dottie had chosen our feeder. Not only did I get to add “White-winged Dove” to my list of birds, but I also had an interesting time identifying and watching her. Also, Dottie the Dove had planted in my mind a new meaning for the name “White-winged Dove.” What I would formerly have thought of as only a bird foreign to this area, was now a name full of memories—memories of our unique and puzzling visitor.
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12 is
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53 W
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Day
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VA
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I stood up straight and listened. What was that scratching sound just outside our cabin? There
it was again. I tiptoed my way around the beds and peeked through the screen window. Something was stirring around in the dry leaves on the ground.
Then I saw it—a bird. At first I thought it was a robin, but then I noticed that the red part was only on its sides. The middle part of the breast was white.
Towhee? Back home I had spent many hours looking through my “Golden
Guide” book about birds. I was thrilled. I knew this had to be a towhee, even though I had never seen a live one before. I watched it for a long time before returning to the rest of my camp unit. Later I looked for my bird in a book on the nature table in the cafeteria, and, yes, I was right. It was a Rufous-sided Towhee.
That day in the cabin was over fifty years ago, but I’ll never forget that moment. I’ve observed many towhees since then, and they still bring back the excitement of my first discovery.
The towhees are named after the two-syllable sound they usually make. Male towhees also have a three-syllable call that bird watchers like to remember as “Drink your tea.” The last note of this call is a trill or quivery sound. When I learned the name of this bird, it was called a Rufous-sided Towhee, but today it is called the Eastern Towhee. The Spotted Towhee which lives in the western
My First Towhee
by Janice D. Green
©
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We invite you to submit your caption for this photograph. The photograph will be used on the back of the May issue, along with our choice of a caption or captions.
We appreciate your following these rules for submissions:Please submit a postcard, not in an envelope, addressed to:
Caption This Fawn, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, VA 22821, or e-mail to [email protected]. Mention “Fawn” in subject line. Include your name and address.
Reply by February 15, 2018.
Smelling the “roses...”
Caption This
©
Twild
life/
Dre
amst
ime.
com
United States was also called “Rufous-sided” until it was given a separate name of its own. The two are much alike except for the spots. Some people call the Eastern Towhee a Ground Robin because it looks so much like a robin.
Towhees are shy birds that prefer living on the edges of wooded areas and around thick shrubbery. The cabins at camp were in a circle around a large clearing in the woods, and my towhee was scratching around looking for worms and insects under the dried leaves. Today my backyard has lots of shrubbery and trees that attract towhees, so sometimes I see them on the ground under our bird feeders. They are never on the feeders, however. They eat the corn and seeds that fall to the ground. If it weren’t for all the shrubbery in our yard, I doubt the towhees would pay any attention to our feeders. Towhees’ favorite foods are beetles, ants, snails, and spiders, as well as berries, weed seeds, and small nuts.
Towhees nest on the ground or very close to the ground where the shrubbery is thick. The female towhee makes her cup-like nest of grasses, twigs, leaves, and roots. It is lined with softer grasses and even hair when she can find it. The eggs are creamy gray, or green, with speckles. Sometimes a parasitic bird, the Brown-headed Cowbird, will lay her eggs in the towhee’s nest for the unsuspecting towhees to feed and care for. The sneaky cowbird may remove a towhee egg at the same time she lays her egg so the towhee is less likely to notice. Towhees are also at risk from other animals that might find their nest on the ground and eat their eggs or young.
Towhees are not considered endangered or threatened, but they aren’t as plentiful as they once were. Watch for them at the edges of wooded areas and around thick shrubbery. Or better yet, listen for them. Towhees are noisy rustlers as they scratch with both feet at the same time and dart after any critters they uncover. You might hear one before you see it.
Shadows are everywhere—little shadows, big shadows, diffuse shadows, harsh shadows,
even funny shadows, like your own shadow can be. You’ve probably played with your own shadow at some time or another. I used to do it in my younger years. Usually, the bigger you can make your shadow, the more exciting it is.
In the realm of big shadows, the Earth’s own shadow is the biggest one a person can see. Have you ever seen it? Few people realize that it’s actually easy to see. All you need for a clear view is a sunset on a clear day.
When the sun sets in the west, the Earth’s shadow starts to rise in the east and appears as a dark blue wedge in the otherwise pinkish lower sky. It stretches all the way around the eastern sky and tapers off to nothing at the northern and southern points of the horizon. It’s often easiest to see about fifteen minutes after sunset.
Just after sunset, you’re only looking at a small part of Earth’s shadow. During a lunar eclipse, a much bigger part of it is visible. You can see it as it slides across the face of the Moon. The shadow edge isn’t a straight line; it’s curved. This reveals the obvious fact that the Earth has a spherical shape.
A lunar eclipse happens only at full moon when the Sun is directly opposite from the Moon. It’s the only time the Moon gets to sit in the shade and calmly cool its blistering 260° F (127° C) sunward-facing side.
We’ll get to see this cool Moon next on January 20, 2019. That Sunday night the moon will enter Earth’s shadow and turn a dim orange/red color. For this reason, it’s also called a Blood Moon. It will have this color for the same reason that sunsets are red. In fact, all of Earth’s sunsets and sunrises will be shining on the moon simultaneously during the eclipse.
As sunlight passes through our atmosphere, shorter wavelengths of light like blue get scattered around by air molecules. This is why the sky appears blue. During a lunar eclipse, sunlight grazes past the earth and through the atmosphere. Short wavelengths of blue light are then scattered out, and long wavelengths of light such as red are about all that’s left to continue straight on. As the red light continues out of the atmosphere, it’s refracted onto the surface of the moon and then bounces back to us as a reflection of all the sunsets and sunrises happening on the earth at that time.
The darkest part of Earth’s shadow (umbra) will first contact the moon at about 10:34 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). The shadow will have completely covered the Moon by a few seconds past 11:41 p.m. EST. The total phase will end at 12:43 a.m. EST on Jan 21.
One of the overlooked opportunities of a lunar eclipse is the chance to see the night sky in an unparalleled way. People generally consider two aspects of the night sky to be the most beautiful of all things seen at night. One is the full moon and
by Morris Yoder
22 j a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 n a t u r e F r i e n d
“Shadows”
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the other is a clear, dark sky showing thousands of stars.
Unfortunately, these two don’t exist at the same time. When a full moon sails in the sky, the majority of stars are washed away in the blaze of sunlight reflecting off the Moon. When the stars are out by the thousands, it means the full moon is nowhere to be seen.
The bright Moon usually seems to make the stars go dark, but don’t let the full moon fool you—there’s one exception! During a total lunar eclipse, the sky can show the striking beauty of the starry host in full glory. Since the glare of sunlight
Like every other year, 2019 begins with a meteor shower. The Quadrantid meteor
shower peaks on the night of January 3–4, with a predicted maximum zenith hourly rate of 120. The Quadrantid shower is notorious for being easy to miss; peak meteor activity only lasts for a few hours, dropping off sharply before and after the peak. If the peak occurs during the daytime, you may see only a few meteors after dark.
Fortunately, the conditions are favorable for the 2019 Quadrantids. The shower’s predicted peak occurs on the American evening of January 3, so there should be some visible meteor activity even if the actual peak time doesn’t quite match the predictions. European observers are in an even better position to observe the Quadrantids, since the peak occurs there during the early morning hours when the shower’s radiant is higher in the sky. New moon comes just a couple days after the Quadrantid shower peaks, so moonlight will not interfere with meteor observation.
The first solar eclipse of 2019 occurs on January 6.
In Our Skiesby Shaphan Shank
This eclipse, which is only partial, will be visible from southwestern Alaska (on the local evening of January 5) and from most of eastern Asia. The greatest eclipse will occur in Siberia, where the Sun will be 62% eclipsed.
A total lunar eclipse will take place about two weeks later, on the night of January 20–21. The eclipse will be visible from all of the Americas, as well as from Europe and much of western Africa. The Moon will begin entering the faint outer penumbra of Earth’s shadow at 02:36 UTC on January 21 (21:36 EST on January 20). However, you won’t see much change in the Moon’s appearance until it enters the umbra (dark part of Earth’s shadow) around 03:34 UTC (22:34 EST). Totality will begin when the Moon completely enters the umbra at 04:41 UTC (23:41 EST). Totality will last for just over an hour, ending at 05:43 UTC (00:43 EST, both times on January 21).
On February 2, the Moon will occult, or pass in front of, Saturn. The timing of the occultation is unfavorable for most locations, so the occultation will only be visible just before sunrise from parts of Europe. The thin lunar crescent will be a couple degrees east of Saturn by the time the pair rises in the Americas.
is shielded from the Moon during this time, the stars have little competition to work against, and thousands come out in shining array. At the same time, the full moon can be seen hovering in the sky with the added ethereal glow of Earth’s sunrises and sunsets beamed onto it. Since the brilliant glare of reflected sunlight on the Moon is replaced with a soft gradient of warm hues, the Moon takes on an unusual 3D appearance against the backdrop of the starry sky. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Earth’s shadow play is much more interesting than mine ever was.
24 j a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 n a t u r e F r i e n d
Hopefully, you have your Purple Martin apartment house built and are now ready for
the pole and the crank. I am on a learning curve with this project as well. One thing I learned the hard way is to make sure the hole through the middle of the apartment house is plenty large enough! If you haven’t finished your apartment house, I advise you to be absolutely sure that the hole in the middle is at least 3¾ inches square, minimum, after paint is applied. Mine was a bit too small, and I had to plane two sides of my post to make it slide well through the apartment house.
I recommend using a treated 4” x 4” x 16’ post, although you may notice in the photos that mine is only 12 feet long. The lumberyard I went to did not sell 16-footers, so I went ahead and bought a 12-footer. Don’t do it! Wait until you can get a full 16-footer. By the time the post is buried well into the ground, a 12-foot is really too short to be ideal. Hint: to save yourself a trip to the lumberyard in vain, call ahead to see if they handle 16-footers.
For the hardware, you will need the following items to put the pole together like I did:
• Hand crank. I purchased a 600 lb rated.• Cable. Since the crank did not come with
cable, I purchased a piece of ⅛” cable. For a 16’ pole, get at least 24’.
• A pulley that can easily be screwed into the side of a pole.
• Screws to fasten the pulley to the post and small lag bolts and washers (¼” x 1¼”) to fasten the crank to the post. Use the type made from metals that will not corrode in treated lumber.
• While you are grabbing the washers, look for a large diameter washer (about ¾”) with a ⅛” hole in it. This washer is for the cable end that lifts the apartment house. (Note that if your crank comes with a cable, you will need to find what size the cable is and select a washer accordingly.)
by Mike Atnip
Making a Pole for Your
Purple Martin House
25t h a n k y o u f o r t e l l i n g a f r i e n d a b o u t N a t u r e F r i e n d .
• Two cable clamps for cable size.• One sack of premixed concrete (optional).
The first step in putting everything together may be the trickiest of the process. Drill two ⅜” holes near one side of the center post hole in the apartment house. These holes need to be ¾” from the centerline of the hole. You will need to drill these two holes through all wood layers of the house.
Start threading one end of the cable through the pulley, until the cable is roughly halfway through. Then take both ends of the cable and thread them down through the roof of the apartment house, through the series of holes that you drilled. Pull at least a foot of cable through, so that the cable doesn’t pull back out in the next step. Believe me, it isn’t easy to thread the cables through when the house is on the post!
Now is the time to put the house on the pole, from the bottom end of the pole. If your post is laid on saw horses, it will go more easily. A helper will also be appreciated at this point. Push the post through the house for about seven feet. This is approximately where the house will sit when it is lowered, when everything is finished.
Before attaching the pulley, you will want to make sure your cables are not twisted, and that you screw the pulley onto the same side of the post as the holes in the house.
Now take the pulley (which has the cable threaded through it) and screw it near the top of the post, down half an inch.
You will notice in the picture that the cable is not threaded into the pulley. I made the mistake of screwing the pulley to the post first, only to realize later that I should have waited to attach the pulley.
Now slide that special big washer over the end of the right cable (looking from the bottom end of the pole). Tie the end of the cable into some kind of knot that will not slip through the hole in the washer. Once you have a nice knot, take one of the
cable clamps and secure it in such a way that the knot cannot come untied. When finished clamping, pull the other end of the cable until the slack is taken out. The flat washer should fit up against the bottom of the apartment. This is the point where the lifting will occur on the house. Theoretically, you could just screw an eyebolt into the roof and pull from the roof. But that method would be more likely to pull the roof off. This way, you are lifting from the bottom side of the house.
Now measure up six feet from the bottom of the post and attach the crank to the post. If you bought the same model of crank that I did, it may require putting the handle on and other minor assembly. Just make sure that you get the pulling end pointing up.
With the crank firmly attached to the pole with the lag bolts (don’t forget the washers!) you will now need to attach the end of the cable to the crank. Wrap the cable around the center pin of the crank a couple of times, and use the other cable clamp to fasten the loose end back to the cable. Make sure your attachment is well done, because if the cable comes loose, it may cause the house to crash on someone’s head while they are cranking! Now crank up any loose cable.
We are attaching the crank fairly low on the post so that when the house is lowered, it will sit low enough to be cleaned, inspected, and painted. To plant the post, however, you may need room to place a level on the post, and filling the hole may be easier if the house is up a couple of feet out of the way.
Now dig your hole, at least 30” deep, if not 36”. For good measure, you may want to put half a bag of premixed concrete into the hole. Put the post into the hole and add the other half of the concrete; then tamp the dirt back in. Level the post while filling the hole. An unleveled house may allow rain to run into one side of the apartments more easily.
Once the post is in place, you are ready to watch for Purple Martins to arrive in the spring.
26
Answers to puzzle on page 13
j a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 n a t u r e F r i e n d
Super Plants!by Kris MacLeod
Throughout North America, amazing plants grow and thrive. God provided these plants with unique means of survival, such as spreading seeds, avoiding predators, and obtaining food.
Parachute: Common milkweed seeds are dispersed by the wind on long strands of down.Burrs: Enchanter’s nightshade’s burred seed capsules snag passing animals and are carried away.Nocturnal: Evening primrose opens petals only at night, attracting night pollinators.Stink: Skunk cabbage emits a foul smell to attract flies and beetles for pollination. Prickles: Woods rose’s thorns aid plant in hanging onto vegetation and deterring predators.Poison: Water hemlock contains toxins that are very poisonous to animals and people.Climb: Virginia creeper’s long tendrils have sticky pads to support and aid plant in climbing.Parasite: Oak mistletoe sinks its roots into oak trees to absorb the trees’ nutrients and water.Follow sun: Common sunflower faces the sun throughout the day to benefit the most from sunlight.Bait: Roundleaf sundew has sticky sap to attract and catch insects; plant then digests them.Trigger: Venus flytrap uses a trigger to snap leaves shut, capturing insects and digesting them.Pitfall trap: Trumpet pitcher uses nectar to lure insects; they fall into funnel and are digested.
Place each bold survival word into the puzzle.
©
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Pitcher Plant
K e v i n a n d b e t h a n y t h a n k y o u f o r s h a r i n g N a t u r e F r i e n d w i t h y o u r f r i e n d s .
E n d o f t h e T r a i l
Do you have a beautiful nature photo to share? We invite you to send it to End of the Trail, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton, Virginia 22821 E-mail: [email protected].
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“I ‘cat’ believe I let that bird get away!”
Elam Stoltzfus, Sharpsburg, KY
“It sure ‘lynx’ like snow today.”
Nathan Zook , Mill Hall, PA
“Who put up that chain lynx fence?”Alessi Emmenegger, Toronto, ON
“That looks purrfect.”Hannah Poe, Carlisle, PA
“Are you the missing lynx?”Rebekah Bear, West Liberty, KY
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