I found this rock in a cave by our house. Photo © Nate Carlen, Chewelah, WA. I took a walk to our pond, and was delighted to find this large crayfish in a shallow puddle. Photo © Timothy David...
Articles
F/stops—How They Work and Why You Want to Understand Them
F/stops sound high tech, and might even sound like something that will take all the fun out of photography. Stick with me, though, and you will learn they are not quite as scary as they sound. The...
Camp & Cabin Cookin’
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Don’t Forget the Peppers!
What fruit is often harvested and eaten before it is ripe? Why, peppers, of course. Green peppers are used in many recipes and eaten raw as well. Personally, I prefer mine ripe. But with peppers...
Scorpius
Scorpius, the Scorpion, is one of the most distinctive constellations in the night sky. On July evenings, it sits just above the southern horizon at mid-northern latitudes. Antares, the brightest...
Study Guide Puzzles, July 2021
Download July 2021 Study Guide PDF Study Guide puzzles reinforce learning from this month’s magazine. Download the Study Guide, and print the puzzle pages. Search for the answers in the July...
Hummingbird Word Search, July 2021
Download July 2021 Nature Friend PDF
End of the Trail, July 2021
Triple Falls (Twin Falls), Camp Orr Boy Scout Camp, Arkansas. It is officially named Twin Falls. When the water is high, there are three distinct falls. Photo © Elsie Grace Swihart.
Learning By Doing, How to Build a Chickadee House
In Our Skies, July 2021, Venus and Mars Conjunction
Throughout July, Venus and Mars will be visible low in the west just after sunset. The planets will start and end the month a little distance from each other, but on the evening of July 12, they...
Planetary Nebulas
Have you ever wondered why the area at the back of your elbow is nicknamed the “funny bone”? For starters, it’s really not a bone. It’s the Ulnar nerve. and when you bump it, it’s not funny at all!...
Exploring Nature, Summer
Photo © Kevin Shank. The Great Migration of Wildebeests are at the banks of the Grumeti River. Here they pass through crocodile-infested water.Black-light for moths.Sugar for moths. Add yeast to...
Spring Peeper
Somewhere in the darkness just ahead was what I was searching for. I had not seen it, but I was hearing it—a high-pitched, shrill, peep, peep, peep. Actually there were hundreds of peeps all around...
Snowflakes
In the Beginning God Created…Snowflakes Snow is falling steadily. The ground is covered and wet snow is clinging to every branch and twig in the forest. Evergreen branches are drooping under the...
Our Long Wait
“You wouldn’t believe how yucky the holly bushes are!” Sheila breezed into our office, bringing with her the silken presence of fresh air. It was still March and the air was chilly, but alive with...