by Kevin Shank | Aug 1, 2023 | 2023, 08 August, Birds, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Hummingbirds
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Aug 1, 2023 | 2023, 08 August, Contest, Pictures and Poems
View the August 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Jul 1, 2023
Build a bird feeder, and write clear instructions for a “Learning By Doing” lesson so others can make the same feeder you did. If possible, photograph the steps, or otherwise illustrate the steps with drawings. Be neat.At the minimum, photograph the finished project,...
by Kevin Shank | Jul 1, 2023
Do you remember last year’s Water Workshop contest? We want this one to be similar to that one, but this time your chosen spot can, but might not, include water. (Examples: Field, forest, pond, park, yard, garden, bird nest, etc.)Enjoy your spot as many times as you...
by Kevin Shank | Jun 1, 2023 | 2023, 06 June Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
View the June 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Anthony Burkholder | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Carnivores, Contest, Mammals, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Black bear. Photo © Anthony Burkholder. One warm summer evening in September, my family was outside eating my little brother’s birthday cake. Suddenly my mother shaded her eyes and exclaimed, “What is that?”We all looked and...
by Joshua Lloyd | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Canines, Carnivores, Contest, Mammals, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Red Fox. Photo © Joshua Lloyd. One summer morning Michaela went outside to feed our mini lop bunnies. She had the feeling that something was watching her, and she whirled around to see two squinting eyes staring at her. She...
by Phoebe Hochstetler | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Caterpillars, Contest, Insects & Arachnids, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Photo © JjGouin/Dreamstime.com. I guess it started when a lady said she had a monarch caterpillar for us along with some milkweed to feed it. Although we didn’t know if it would turn out to be a he or she, my mom, a namer of...
by Hannah Stodden | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Contest, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine One day last winter, it snowed and covered the yard. Daddy scooped it into a big pile with the backhoe. In the afternoon, our family went out to play. It was a squishy snow, soft and not good for climbing on the snow pile. We...
by A. F. R. | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Contest, Crustaceans & Mollusks, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Land crab. Photo © Andrey Gudkov/Dreamstime.com. The cool Bahamian breezes tickle our faces. It is a relief to have some cool moments after this unusually steamy July day. We are following the quote, “One rainy day, one sunny...
by Japheth Hochstetler | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Contest, Deer and Antelope, Mammals, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Bull elk. Photo © Le Thuy Do/Dreamstime.com. The van slowed, then made its way around yet another sharp curve. I heaved a sigh and settled back in my seat. “I don’t think we’ll ever get there,” I complained to myself.I turned...
by Izzy Hass | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Astronomy, Meteors
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Meteor. Photo © Dreamstime.com. It was late in the day when I remembered. Weeks before, I had checked our November Nature Friend. The Geminid meteor shower was tonight.I had never seen a “shooting star,” and I didn’t really...
by Anna Boggs, Rural Retreat, VA | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Contest, Insects & Arachnids, Plants & Fungi, Story Contest, Trees
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine They say ignorance is bliss. In some ways, I wish I had never taken that summer evening walk.“Mom, could I head out and look for monarchs again?”I’d waited long enough, I thought, for the milkweed-loving monarchs to populate...
by Elise Weaver | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Carnivores, Contest, Mammals, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Photo © Elise Weaver. One Sunday afternoon after church, Dad took my sisters and me on an overnight camping trip. We packed our backpacks with sleeping bags, food, and a first aid kit. My older sister didn’t pack a sleeping...
by Kevin Shank | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Marlene Burkholder | May 1, 2023 | 2023, 05 May Story Contest, Articles & Stories, Birds, Contest, Kingfishers, Story Contest
View the May 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Belted Kingfisher at nest. Photos © Marlene Burkholder. One sunny May morning, I saw two kingfishers! I assumed they were just flying around and wouldn’t stay long. To my surprise, they seemed to be staying around. They would...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 3, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Art Contest, Contest, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Wildflower Art Contest winner: Fireweed in the Rockies. Artwork © Maria Carver.
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Art Contest, Birds, Contest, Plants & Fungi, Thrushes, Trees, Wildflowers
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Moonflower. Artwork © Emily Hulbert. Red-winged Blackbird on cattails. Artwork © John Mark Ramer. Dogwood Dawn. Artwork © Hannah Stoltzfus.
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023
Flower garden contest grand prize winner 2020. Photo © Delphine R. Shirk. Dear Nature Friend,I just got the idea that you should have a flower garden contest this spring and summer.I know you’ve done flower planter contests, but I didn’t think you’ve ever done flower...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Birds, Contest, Gardening, Hawks, Eagles, & Kites, Mailbox, Plants & Fungi
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Art Contest, Contest, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Bloodroot, trout lilies, spring beauties. Artwork © Julia Plichta. Monarch on black-eyed Susan. Artwork © Daniel Martin. Knotweed. Artwork © Kendra Klaassen. Lotus. Artwork © Caleb...
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Art Contest, Birds, Contest, Covers, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers, Woodpeckers
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine Pileated Woodpecker. Photo © Lois Tschetter.
by Anna Boggs, Rural Retreat, VA | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Art Contest, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Contest, Insects & Arachnids, Let's Take a Hike, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Apr 1, 2023 | 2023, 04 April, Articles & Stories, Contest, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
View the April 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Mar 1, 2023 | 2023, 03 March, Articles & Stories, From the Editor's Quill, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
View the March 2023 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Feb 20, 2023
— through my lens. (Submit large .jpeg files.)— through my brushes. (Submit originals or large .jpeg.)— through my pens. We are choosing the month of March as the basis for a contest. We have readership throughout the world, so some of you experience March as warm...
by Kevin Shank | Nov 1, 2022 | 2022, 11 November, Birds, Cardinals, Tanagers, & Allies, Contest, Learning By Doing, Mailbox
View the November 2022 Nature Friend Magazine
by Kevin Shank | Oct 1, 2022 | 2022, 10 October Bonus Readers' Issue, Articles & Stories, Contest, Insects & Arachnids, Plants & Fungi, Wildflowers
by Kevin Shank | Sep 26, 2022 | 2022, 09 September, Articles & Stories, From the Editor's Quill, Mammals, Puzzle, Scavenger Hunt
by Eugene Martin | Sep 1, 2022 | 2022, 09 September, Articles & Stories, Birds, Blackbirds, Orioles, Meadowlarks, Butterflies, Moths & Skippers, Contest, Freshwater, Insects & Arachnids, Sparrows, Thrushes, Warblers, Water Life, Waterfowl - Geese, Swans, Ducks, Loons, Grebes
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 and light. The mist covering the vales protestingly writhed in an...
