View the December 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
Waterfowl – Geese, Swans, Ducks, Loons, Grebes
What a Splashing Success!
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Wood Duck drake swimming. Photo © Cheryl Shank. Slowly, quietly, yet steadily, I crept along, my binoculars in hand. Surely I can sneak in here without...
Four-legged Furries
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine Every Monday and Thursday morning my co-teacher and I meet on the road somewhere between her house and mine for a pleasant walk to school on the...
Big Day Birding
Canada Warbler. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. On May 13, 2022, my brother and I, along with five others, joined my grandfather on a big day birding trip. My grandfather, Andrew Troyer, keeps an annual big...
Whooping Crane Wonders
Whooping Crane. Photo © Dreamstime.com. Dawn broke clear and cold on a gorgeous autumn day. The date was October 27, 2021, and it would be a day to remember. My siblings, my mom, and I drove 1½...
Favorite Focus, October 2022
We Like Water Wildlife
Marsh with wild phlox. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. The twists and turns of the Big Spring are a water-life paradise. Flowing, rippling watercress and waving mosses grow in the waters. The clear...
A Week by the Creek
Stream and wild lupines. Photo © Dreamstime.com. With a last cautious effort, the sun finally peeked over the eastern horizon. Gaining confidence, it rose fully, flooding the earth with its warmth...
A Week in the Woods
Water Workshop Grand Prize Woodland pond. Photo © Joanna Rufener. What goes on day and night at a calm, wooded pond in spring?It was a mystery to me, and this year I found out, thanks to Nature...
In Search of Ducks!
Floating waterfowl blind. Photo © Dogwood Ridge. Oh no, I thought, I didn’t put the flippers on my boots. I will have to wade back to the shore.After some awkward minutes trying to figure out...
Build a Floating Blind for Waterfowl Photos
Waterfowl blind. Photo © Nathan Leinbach. One brisk morning at dawn, I drove toward the spot where I like to float my floating blind in the creek. I slipped on my waders and set my “ship” afloat.My...
Pictures & Poems, June 2022
Wild Bird Art Contest Graphite Pencil Winners
First Place Winner Great Horned Owl. Artwork © Lynette Miller, 17. Second Place Winner Wood Duck pair. Artwork © Reuben Miller, 16. Third Place Winner Red-bellied Woodpecker. Artwork © Laura...
Favorite Focus, March 2022
