by Kevin Shank | Jul 20, 2021 | 2021, 08, August, Birds, Flycatchers, Let's Take a Hike, Wildflowers
Background photo © Kevin Shank.
by Kevin Shank and Maria Carver | Jul 20, 2021 | 2021, 08, August, Covers, Issues, Plants & Fungi
Large-leaved Lupines. Photo © Maria Carver. Sunset over pond. Photo © Kevin Shank. August 2021 Nature Friend
by Kevin Shank | Jun 18, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Birds, Focus Illustrated, Mammals, Plants & Fungi, Premium Edition, Thrushes
Gray Squirrel This photo was submitted as a Favorite Focus. The editor turned it into an example of the February Photo Focus, by using Sharpen AI software to sharpen the photo. Photo © Ryan Fox, Shiloh, OH. Eastern Bluebird This photo illustrates the April 2021 Photo...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Crustaceans & Mollusks, Favorite Focus, Freshwater, Plants & Fungi, Premium Edition, Rocks, Minerals & Metals, Water Life
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 Miller, Woodburn, IN Dandelion Fun. Photo © Steven Smith. Haiti landscape...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Insects & Arachnids, Premium Edition, The Photo Focus
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 term “f/stop” refers to the size of the aperture opening inside the...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Camp & Cabin Cookin', Premium Edition
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by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Acrostic, Crossword, Premium Edition, Puzzles, Study Guide
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 2021 Nature Friend magazine and Study Guide. Download July...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, End of the Trail
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.
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Astronomy, Conjunctions, In Our Skies, Meteors, Planets
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 will pass about 0.5° from each other. On the same night, the Moon will be...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 17, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Articles & Stories, Exploring Nature, Mammals
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 spoiled fruit and set in the sun for several hours. Mix in lots of brown or white sugar, and...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 9, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Birds, Blackbirds, Orioles, Meadowlarks, Mailbox, Plants & Fungi
by Kevin Shank | Jun 9, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Articles & Stories, Bees, Birds, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Insects & Arachnids, Rails, Gallinules, & Coots
by Kevin Shank | Jun 8, 2021 | 2021, 07, July, Pictures and Poems
by Kevin Shank | May 21, 2021 | 2021, 06, June Readers' Issue, Covers, Reptiles & Amphibians
Garter snake. Photo © Alva Steury Jr.
by Kevin Shank | May 13, 2021 | 2021, 06, June Readers' Issue, Mailbox, Mammals
by Kevin Shank | May 13, 2021 | 2021, 06, June Readers' Issue, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Creation Close-ups, Plants & Fungi, Storms, Weather
by Kevin Shank | May 13, 2021 | 2021, 06, June Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Pictures and Poems
by Kevin Shank | Apr 20, 2021 | 2019, 11, November, Birds, Contest
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Reptiles & Amphibians, You Can Draw Submissions
Go to January 2021 for Bullfrog Lesson
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Birds, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, Mailbox, Mammals
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Insects & Arachnids
One balmy day during the summer of 2014, my sister and I found a deceased cicada. We deposited it in a Styrofoam container. Then we gifted it with an air freshener, a mothball. After performing these burial rites, we sealed its casket off with a plastic lid. We then...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Birds, Invisibles, Puzzles
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Contest, From the Editor's Quill
You are holding in your hands the long-awaited May 2021 Story Contest issue. A big thank you to all who participated this year! We picked four winners from three age categories (6-9, 10-13, 14-17) for this issue. More of your stories are being considered for the June...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 15, 2021 | 2021, 05, May Story Contest, Covers, Mammals
A white-tailed fawn curled under cinnamon ferns in the Shenandoah National Park, Big Meadows. Photo © Kevin Shank. Back Cover Jack Rabbit Caption This. Photo © Dreamstime.com.
by Kevin Shank | Apr 14, 2021 | 2021, 04, April, Articles & Stories, Camp & Cabin Cookin', Premium Edition
Recipes: Almost Pizza, and Farmer Brown Special. Recipes: Buttermilk Pancakes, Dutch Honey, and Oatmeal Cake. Download
by Kevin Shank | Apr 14, 2021 | 2021, 04, April, Acrostic, Crossword, Premium Edition, Puzzles, Study Guide
Download 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 April 2021 Nature Friend magazine and Study Guide. Download April 2021 Nature Friend...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 12, 2021 | 2015, 12, December, Articles & Stories, Rocks, Minerals & Metals
The gold that the wise men from the East brought to Baby Jesus—do you suppose it was in the form of coins…nuggets…or some other form? Whatever form it was in, God used these visitors to help provide for the earthly family into which His Son was born. We do not know...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 12, 2021 | 2020, 03, March, Birds, Contest
That was fun! There was some really stiff competition. Decisions were challenging! We decided to add some categories for winners. Beyond the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place that was announced, we are adding a grand prize, as well as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place for decorative...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 3, 2021 | 2021, 02, February, Birds, Crows, Jays, & Magpies, You Can Draw Submissions
Go to October 2020 for Blue Jay Lesson
by Kevin Shank | Apr 3, 2021 | 2021, 01, January, You Can Draw Submissions
Go to September 2020 for Bull Elk Lesson
