Nfm July 2008 72dpi PDF

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Invisibles .................. ..................... ........... 3

Our Mourning Dove Family .................. 4Pictures and Poems .................. ............... 6

Interesting Facts for the Curious ........... 7

Wondernose ................... .................... ..... 8

Could You Find a Koala? ................... ... 10

Te Mailbox........................... ................ 11

Nature rails.......................................... 11

Confusing Creatures .................... ......... 12

In the BeginningGod Created Yellow-breasted Chats..14

You Can DrawA Koala...................... 16

A Wood Duckfrom MarchYou Can Draw ............................. .......18

Daisy Coloring......................................19

Who Am I? ............................................ 19

Where is the Milky Way? ................... ... 20

Creation Close-Ups ..................... ......... 22

Crab Legs and Lunch ............................ 24

Caption Tis ................... .................... ... 25

Plant Reactions ..................... ................ 26

In this issue are hidden six butterfies.

You can see here what they look like;

however, where they are hidden they may

be any size and any color. So get your

binoculars (or magniying glass) and

start searching. See i you can collect

all six butterfies.

Scavenger Hunt

I See It! rom June

Front

Cover:

Tis

peacock

butterfy

is ound

in Europe,

Asia, and

Northern

Arica.

BaCk Cover:

Do I look like Daniel Coone yet?

Samuel Strunk, Kempton, PA

page 7lily pad

page 11rog

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4/28

arly in the spring, a ock o doves

migrating north passed over the Stout

Family Farm, where they stopped

to east in the corneld, picking up

scattered grain. Mourning doves

eed almost exclusively on seeds,

including corn and wheat,which are abundant on the

arm.

Aer the doves lled their crops, they ew

away to digest their meal while resting. Te

crop permits the dove to gather and store ood

rapidly, minimizing the time they are exposed

to predators like owls, squirrels, and cats, which

by Diane Stout

are

also

numerous

on the arm. Aer

eating seeds, they swallow a bit o ne

gravel, which aids in digestion.

Later, at least twenty doves stopped

by the armhouse to rest on the

deck railing. One male dove claimed

territory with his plaintive call,

prancing around, cooing and billing,

with his neck eathers all rued. He

and his mate selected a nesting site in a blue

spruce tree.

Like all doves, the males wings made a

uttery, whistling sound as he ew about

gathering small twigs to build the nest. In

E

RuthAnnJohnston/istockphoto.com

La

ur

aHo

ok

,

1

4,

Ft

.

Wayn

e,IN

J u l y 2 0 0 8 n a t u r e f r i e n d4


5/28

selecting material, the male

was very careul and tested

sticks by shaking them

vigorously. As he handed

his graceul mate the twigs,

she built a nest o imsy

construction.

Te emale dove laid two

small white eggs. Te male

incubated the eggs during the

day, and the emale incubated

them during the night. While

one was taking care o thenestlings, the other one took

time to east on seeds and get a drink o water

rom the creek on the arm. Unlike most other

species o birds, it did not need to li its head

aer each sip o water.

Te doves were devoted parents and very

rarely le the nest unattended. Tis is common

among mourning doves, with one exception.

Te dove will leave the nest and abandon eggs

or nestlings i threatened by a predator or

human. I that happens, they will usually nest

again.

Approximately two weeks aer the eggs were

laid, the babiescalled squabswere hatched.

Both parents ed the squabs crop milk. Crop

milk is a secretion rom the lining o the doves

crop and is ed by regurgitation. Each nestling

dove inserted its bill into the corner o the

parents mouth and swallowed the crop milk

or seeds that its parent disgorged. Te parent

ed both nestlings simultaneously, with one

on each side. I the parent dove had a third

nestling, the ood would be limited. Tere

would not be enough ood or a third nestling

aer the rst two nished. Te smallest

nestling would not have a good chance o

surviving.

Aer the rst ew days, the parents began to

introduce a small proportion o small seeds,

soened by holding in the crop. By the endo the second week, the babies were being ed

entirely with soened adult ood.

At this time, the squabs began to get their

ight eathers. Tey stayed near the nest to

be ed or a couple more weeks beore leaving

their parents and ying of on their own.

As the ofspring le the nest, their parents

ormed a strong bond which will keep them

together throughout the winter. Once their

ofspring were on their own, the doves ew

south to spend the cold months in a warmer

climate. ypically, they will return in the spring

to the same area which or this pair might be

the Stout Family Farm. s

LauraHook,

14,

Ft.Wayne,

IN

P s b o N a t u r e F r i e n d . 5


6/28

I like the rainbow. God made the rainbow.

Want to have your picture or poem published in Nature Friend?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

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.

A Forest WalkLets take a walk in the orest now

A walk in the woods so grand,Examining what the Lord hath made

And now holds in His great hand.Te singing birds make a joyul noise

o their great Creator God.Te trees sway back in the gentle breeze;Around us the bushes nod.

Te tiny ants crawling all around

Do their mighty Maker praise;Without a king they can work as one

By ollowing Gods best ways.

Gods world should give us an awe or HimWho made all the creatures grand;

And we should praise Him or all Hes doneAs we live on this, His land.

Darvin K. Sensenig, 14N. Andros Island, Bahamas

j u l y 2 0 0 8 n a t u r e f r i e n d6

Natures JoysAs I skip happily down the road,I see a great big-bellied toad.He jumps into the brushAs i hes in quite a rush!And as I scan my eyes through the eld,I see an otter cross without yield.I see some deer that jump with right,And I laugh a laugh o pure delight!I see a sh jump in the airWhich gives the horses quite a scare.I give them apples to quiet them down,And then I hear a great loud sound!I quickly turn around in a rush,And a great blue heron walks out o the brush.It senses me and ies away,

And out walks a coon with some o its prey.As I walk on in the beautiul day,I think Ill just sit down and pray.I thank God or a beautiul day outside,And I get on my horse or a wonderul ride!

Sydney Simao, 8Poulsbo, WA

Anna Brueggemann, 10Independence, KY

Bethany J Weiler, 10Seneca Falls, NY

Brianna White, 9oledo, OH

Crystal Kaufman, 9

Denver, PA

Grace urowski, 15Athens, WI

Janae Hurst, 4

Denver, PA

Joshua S Smith, 18Lewiston, ID

Mabel Hoover, 12Penn Yan, NY

Matthew Schrock,Cuba, IL


7/287 P c k o o m v c s w . P a

warts, right on their noses! Lets count ourblessings as we scurry to #16.

Incorrect. Splash back to #10.

Whats the astest mammal in North America?

Wol see #9

Pronghorn antelope see #25

Cheetah see #4

Dont give up, even i youre wrong. Gallop back to#13 once more.

Retrace your leaps to #26.

Guess again please.

Having a hard time? Youre wrong again! Whiz backto #5.

Right. It seems unbelievable, but they can weigh 150tons once theyre grown! Go to #24.

Im sorry. Back to #24.

False. ry #13 again.

How many hearts does an earthworm have?

10 see #27

1 see #2

None see #22

25 see #30

Ah, you have it! Te pronghorn can run 60 milesper hour. Next is #26.

How many arms can a saguaro cactus have?

3 see #18

21 see #28

50 see #11

Exactly! en hearts to one earthworm. Head or #10.

Having a tough time? Well, back up to #26 andthink harder.

Plod back to #10, and guess again.

Incorrect. Crawl back to #24. by Frieda Brubacker, 15Rich Hill, MO

How much does a baby blue whale weigh?

150 lb. see #7

26-40 lb. see #19

6,000 lb. see #21

Youre mistaken this time. Return to #24.

Wrong. rot back to #5.

I at rst you dont succeed, try, try again. akeanother look at #16.

How many warts does a warthog have?

200 see #3

4 to 6 see #14

50 see #20

Now youve got it! Did you nd this quiz hard? Ihope you enjoyed it! Goodbye!

Youre wrong return to #1.

Absolutely right! A hippopotamus has red (orpink) perspiration. Arent we glad we dont?Hop to #5.

No. Race back to #16.

What color is a hippos perspiration?

Clear see #29

Red see #8

Yellow see #15

Good or you! A giant saguaro cactus may have 50

arms. Tey can also be 50 eet tall. Imagine!Swoop to #13.

ake a stroll to #13 and guess again please.

How tall can a girafe become?

7 eet see #12

20 eet see #6

25 eet see #23

11 eet see #17

Good job this time! Warthogs have three pairs o

1

2

3

4

5

4

6

8

10

12

14

7

9

11

13

15

17

19

21

23

25

27

29

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30


8/28

by Rebecca Martin

A.

Willif W Quti #71What animal can tavlfor many miles through the ai,

even though it has wig?You certainly look mystied, Won-

dernose. Youve heard o ying squirrelsand ying sh that can travel or quite

a distance through the air without wings. But many

miles? Tats a dierent story.

One act that helps to keep our mystery animal

airborne is that it is very small. But even the tiniest

insect will eventually all to the ground i it doesnt

have something to aid in keeping it alof. Our little

mystery creature travels by a method called balloon-

ing. (Some have called it parachuting, too, but I eelballooning is a better word.) Now are you imagining

some little mouse or grasshopper clinging or dear

lie to a balloon as it wafs out over the ocean? Its not

quite like that though Im told that sailors up to two

hundred miles rom land have seen these airy ellows

sailing above the waves!

Lets begin at the beginning o our mystery animals

lie. Te mother lays a large number o pearly white


eggs and encloses them in a silken sack, sort o like a

cocoon. No, Wondernose, our animal is not an

insect, though in size its not bigger than one.

o continue with the lie story, this silky bag or

cocoon is usually constructed in the all. Afer she has

laid the eggs, the mother dies. Te eggs are lef alone

I Pylvaia dutch (a laguag pk by may

f u a) th tm gvuaaw (w)

i u t cib m wh i cuiu abut

vythig au him. Wondernoseak ltf quti t atify hi h cuiity. Aft all,

that a g way t la, it it?

EdP

hillips/istockphoto.com


9/289

to hatch in late winter. Since the weather is still cold,

the babies stay inside their sack or awhile. And since

they have no other ood, Wondernose, Im

araid these babies tend to eat each other to survive.

As they develop, the babies grow too large or their

skins, which dont grow with them. So every now

and then the babies molt. I guess you know what

that means, Wondernoseto molt is to

orm a new skin and shed the old one.

At last spring arrives. Te surviving babies tear a

hole in the side o their home, and one by one they

crawl outside. Tey must nd homes or them-

selves where they will repeat the cycle o building

an egg case and laying eggs by all.

Tis is when the traveling comes in. Te baby

will climb to the top o some tall object like a

ence post, tilt its abdomen in the air, and allow

the wind to pull tiny strands o silk out o a

body part called a spinneret

I knew you would guess it now, Won-

dernose. O course our mystery animal is

a spider, and the species Ive chosen to describe is the

common garden spider, though others have similar

habits. Maybe you had a hard time guessing because

you orgot that spiders arent insects. But surely youve

been taught that, among other dierences, spiders

have eight legs while insects ofen have only six.

Getting back to our spiderlings aerial act, the wind

catches those silky strands, lifs the spiderling into the

air, and wafs it along like a balloon on a string! You

wonder how they know when to land, Wonder-

nose? I dont even know i they have any say in where

they land. Teyre probably at the mercy o the wind.

Since theyre called garden spiders, were going to as-

sume that a certain spiderling lands in your garden on

a blackberry bush. Here it will proceed to spin a web

that is a marvelous eat o engineering. First it puts

up a basic line called a bridge. From this it suspends

oundation lines; and, beginning rom the center o

this space, the spider spins out threads like the spokes

o a wheel radiating rom the hub.

Beore I tell you more, Wondernose, I should

explain that a spider spins two kinds o threads dry

ones and sticky ones. In act, all spiders have at least

three kinds o glands that each produce a dierent

type o silk; some spiders produce ve kinds. Each

type o silk has its own unction.

Returning to our garden spiders web, youll remem-

ber that it was putting up spokes with dry silk. Next

it coils a strand o dry silk throughout these spokes to

hold them together. Ten it adds a sticky thread, also

coiled throughout, and removes the dry thread again.

At last it is ready to catch ood! You know the rest,

Wondernose. You have watched a y getting

caught in one o these crafy traps. Ofen a web will be

damaged by the time a spider has had its supper. It will

either repair the web or build a new one.

Guess how long it takes the garden spider to engi-

neer a new web? Only one hour!

i w g o o o m g c h . t n

s

Magg

ieB

ullin

gto

n,

13

,Ath

ens

,AL


10/28


you were to visit eastern Australia, how easily

might you nd a koala in the wild? Several things

could make this a challenge. First o all, koala num-

bers have been seriously depleted by hunters over-

harvesting them or their thick sof ur. Once almost

extinct, they are now protected by law, and eorts are

being made to increase their population.

During the day, koalas are hard to spot as they sleep

curled in orks and clinging to limbs o eucalyptus

trees. Teir brown, white, and gray coats blend right

in with the background.

At night koalas are active, swinging rom tree to

tree, stripping o tough, oily eucalyptus leaves. Stu-

ing them in their mouths, they chew and chew and

chew. Although eucalyptus leaves are deadly to many

animals, God has provided the system o the koala

with a special bacteria to saely process the chemicals

in the leaves. By the end o the day, the average koala

will have eaten 2 lbs o leaves.

Koalas spend most o their lives in

trees, seldom coming to the ground

even or water. In act, the name

koala comes rom an Aborigine

word meaning does not drink.

Koalas usually obtain needed mois-

ture rom the leaves they eat. Duringsome seasons o the year, the euca-

lyptus lea is two-thirds water.

On the rare occasions the koala

comes down rom his tree, he scuttles

along the ground, swaying awk-

wardly, but ast enough to elude a

pursuing dog.

by Michelle Beidler

Te urry koala looks like he would t right in with a

teddy bear collection. In act, he is sometimes reerred

to as koala bear. But in reality, koalas are in the marsu-

pial amily and closely related to the kangaroo.

Te newborn koala is very small and is blind, hairless,

and earless. At one week, the baby koala is about the

size o a jelly bean. Like the kangaroo, this baby is called

a joey. How does this tiny creature nd his way to the

pouch on his mothers belly? It can only be an instinct

provided by our God who created all things good.

For the rst several months the joey nestles in his

mothers pouch. Finally he ventures out to spend the

next six months riding through the treetops clinging to

his mothers back. At the age o 4 years old, the koala is

ully mature and can range in size rom 2 to 3 eet tall.

Did you ever see a koala? You might think, as cute as

they are, they would be ound in most zoos. However,

outside Australia, ew zoos are able to host koalas. Can

you guess why not? Answer on page 11. s

I

Pxlar8/istockphoto.com


11/28

Do you have a nature experience you wantto share, a question youd like to ask, or athought you want to share about somethingin Nature Friend? We want to hear romyou! Write to: Te Mailbox, 4253 WoodcockLane, Dayton, VA 22821, or e-mail

[email protected].

A N S W E R S

11

Dear Nature

Friend,

I know that

honeybees usually

die when they

sting, but I was just thinking, why

dont wasps die when they sting? It

seems like they should, since they are

both ying and stinging insects.

Haley DasenRogers, AR

Dear Haley,

Honeybees have a barbed stinger

that causes it to remain in the skin

afer stinging a person or mammal. When

it pulls out o the abdomen o the

honeybee, the injury to the bee

causes it to die. However, the

bee does not lose its stinger

afer stinging another insect.

Te stinger o a wasp is

smooth, so it is not pulled rom the bodyo the wasp; thereore, the wasp does not

die afer stinging.Nature Friend

Dear Nature Friend,

I really enjoy your magazine. I have

a problem. Flickers keep pecking holes

in the side o our house. No matter

how many times we chase them away,

they always come back. Tere are

ten holes in the wall. What can I do

about it? I anyone can give me some

advice, that would be nice. Please write

to: John S. Jacobs, 93 Meadow Dr,

Blanchard, ID 83804. Tank you.

Dear Nature Friend,

A ew weeks ago, my sister went

to get something out o my parents

room when she saw a Coopers Hawk

outside eating a bird. She called us,

and we watched him pull o all o the

eathers. It was so ascinating to watch

him eat the whole bird! Afer he ew

away, we went outside and there was

just a pile o eathers on the ground. It

was a wonderul experience getting to

see one o Gods wonderul creations

in action.Brianna Starks

Indianapolis, IN

i p p c h c o s o c N a t u r e F r i e n d s M n

nswertoWhytherearefewKoalasinzoosonpage10:

alaseatonlyeucalyptusleaves,andmostzoosareabletoobtainenoughleaves.

nswertoWhoAmIonpage19:leCrocodile

ScottLinstead

Do you like tarantulas? I sure do! In July, I try to

nd them! I enjoy holding them and eeling theirhair. arantulas are big, hairy brown spiders,

commonly ound walking around on hot July days

in search o their avorite oodgrasshoppers! Te

scientic name or the tarantula is theraphosidae.

Tey are capable o biting, but are not harmul to

man. Tey are in the amily o the European wol

spiders.Olivia Anz, 15

Tryon, OK

JohnBell/istockphoto.com


12/28

an you tell a rog rom a toad? Whats thedierence between a rabbit and a hare?

How about an alligator and a crocodile?

Can you tell them apart? Some animals are so

similar to each other that people get them mixed

up. Here are some hints to help you.

Frogs and toads are oen mistaken or each

other. While toads are members o the large rog

order Anura, within this group the name toad is

given to those that typically have dry, warty skin.Frogs, on the other hand, usually have smooth,

moist skin, and can leap great distancessome

kinds even climb trees. oads stay near the

ground. Tey can hop, but are more clumsy than

rogs.

Alligators and crocodiles are harder to tell

apart. Te major dierence is in

their snouts. An alligators snout

is rounded at the end, while a

crocodiles snout is pointed. Is

the reptile giving you a toothy

grin? Its probably a crocodile. A

crocodiles ront angs t outside o its lips, so you

can see teeth even when the croc has its mouth

closed. An alligators teeth are hidden when it shuts

its mouth. Youre more likely to nd an alligator in

the Southeastern United States, while crocodiles

are more common in Central America, Arica, and

Asia.

Lizards and salamanders are another dicult

pair. Start by looking at their skin. A lizard has

skin like a snakesdry and scaly. A salamanders

skin is smooth like a rogs. Lizards have claws on


by Jessica Van Dessel

CarlosSantaMaria/istockphoto.com

DonKonz/

istockphoto.com


13/2813

the ends o their toes, while salamanders do not.

Many species o lizards live in the desert; they dont

mind hot, dry climates with bright sunlight. But

salamanders preer to stay in dark, damp places.

Rabbits and hares are very hard to tell apart. o a

scientist, the dierence between them is that baby

rabbits are born with closed eyes and no ur, while

newborn hares have a ull coat o ur and open eyes.

o tell the adults apart, check the size o their ears.

Hares have longer ears and longer hind eet. Rabbits

are smaller all over. Rabbits like to have their homes

underground. Tey will dig themselves a burrow, or

move into one le by badgers or groundhogs. While

many rabbits nest underground, the cottontail

rabbit makes its nest in a small depression

above ground. Hares make simple nests in the

grass.

How about butterfies and moths? Both othese insects are caterpillars rst, go through

a pupa stage, then emerge with wings, so

whats the dierence? Well, to start with,

butterfies are usually more colorul. Teir

wings are covered with intricate patterns in

many colors and shades o blue, black, yellow,

white, orange, or brown. A moths wings are

much plainer. Butterfies tend to fy during the

day, while most moths come out toward dusk and

at night. Watch the insect as it rests on a fower or

on your window screen. Te wings o a moth will

lie fat, while a butterfy will oen old its wings

upright over its body. Also observe the antennae

are they long and slender, with knobs at the end? I

so, it is probably a butterfy. I they appear short and

uzzy, it is likely a moth.

Our nal pair is the tortoise and the terrapin.

Yes, both are turtles, but many people use the name

tortoise or the species o turtles that live only on

land. ortoises have stubby eet, with short claws or

digging, and they dont mind living in dry places.

In act, many tortoises live in the desert areas o the

Southwest United States. Te name terrapin is

used or the turtles that live in resh water or coastal

streams and marshes. Tey have fatter shells than

tortoises, and their eet may be webbed. errapins

eat small crabs and snails along with water plants.

ortoises are strictly plant eaters. Still not sure

which is which? Just call them all turtles, and

youll be

okay!

God

designed

each o His

creatures to

be unique.

Even these

look-alike

animals

have special

eatures that

set themapart rom

each other.

Te next

time you see

a rog or a

toad, or a

butterfy or a moth, remember the care God took

with each one. s

P s b o N a t u r e F r i e n d .

CathyKeifer/istockphoto.com

JohnBell/istockphoto.com


14/28j u l y 2 0 0 8 n a t u r e f r i e n d14

ne summer day, while recuperating rom

an operation, I was resting on a quilt in our

backyard. Te yard joined a brushy woodland in the

oothills o western Virginias Allegheny Mountains.

Suddenly I heard a medley o birdsong. Looking up,

I saw a beautiul warbler-type bird ing itsel into the

by Naomi Myers

air as i to say, See me?

Te bird was a yellow-breasted chat, the largest

o the wood warblers. Te chat is about 7

inches long when ully grown. It has a thick,

dark-colored, slightly-curved bill and white

broken rings around its eyes, making it look a

little as though its wearing glasses. Its throat and

breast are a bright yellow, its head and back a dark

olive green. Te emale yellow-breasted chat is a

bit smaller than the male, and her colors are not

quite as bright.

Te chat behaves and sounds more like a

member o the mockingbird amily than one o

the wood warblers. In act, sometimes it is called

O


15/2815

a yellow mockingbird. Its song is a mixture o

cackles, whistles, mews, squawks, tweets, cheets,

and sometimes a beautiul warble. It has even been

known to make a noise like a car horn! It mimics

other birds, and sometimes its noises seem to come

rom several directions at once.

Although the chat is usually

secretive, hiding in dense

thickets, sometimes when

it sings it ies rom one

bush to another, its legs

dangling and wings opping

loosely. It may jerk its tail up and down

and twist its head.

Te chat is ound rom

southern Canada south as

ar as central Mexico, at the

edges o woods, in dense

thickets and brambles,

and in low, wet places nearponds, streams, or swamps.

Although most o these birds

migrate to Central America

or the winter, some stay in

the United States, even as ar

north as New England.

Its cup-like nest is made o

dead leaves, bark, grass, and

weeds, but is lined with fnegrass. It is hardly ever built

higher than three eet rom

the ground. A clutch usually

has our eggs, but there may

be three or fve. Te eggs are

white or light cream, with

lavender or rust spots.

Chats eat mostly insects

such as grasshoppers, ants,beetles, wasps, and tent

caterpillars. Tey are also

ond o berries such as

strawberries and blackberries.

In winter, some chats will come to protected

bird eeders near a house and will eat a variety o

oods, including peanut butter, bananas, grapes,

cornbread, and doughnuts.

I hope you will be able to see a yellow-breasted chat sometime. I no longer live

in the Allegheny oothills, and Ive

seen that beautiul bird only once.s

TimV

idrine


16/28

a Koala by Michelle Beidler

youwillneed:

[[4 paper 4 kneaded eraser4 4B pencil, 2B pencil, or mechanical pencil

4 paper stump or blending

Want us to consider your drawing or publication? Send

your completed drawing on clean, unlined paper, and do not

old. On the back write your name, age, and address. Send

to You Can Draw a Koala, 4253 Woodcock Lane, Dayton,

Virginia 22821. If you would like it returned, you must include

a sel-addressed, stamped envelope.

You may e-mail scanned art as a high-resolution jpeg

attachment, 3 inches and 300 d.p.i. Send to youcandraw@

naturefriendmagazine.com. Label art with name, age, address,

and then crop excessive margins. Name fle: koala-childs

name-age

While we appreciate all the hundreds of submissions we get,

we can print only a few of them. Selections are made from all

age groups and not based on quality alone.


When drawing a complex picture, it is helpul

to start with basic shapes. For instance,

this illustration starts with a circle or the

mother koalas head. Tis circle is divided

into quarters with lines extending beyond the

circle. Tis helps locate ovals or other main

shapes.

o avoid smearing your drawing, rest

your hand on a sheet o paper as you

work. Afer your drawing is complete,

it can be sprayed with xative.

Te lightness or darkness o a tone is

known as value. I used a mechanical

pencil to make this value scale, but then

went over the darkest areas with my sof

lead 4B pencil.


17/28

a m o s s s o g s c h o o c c m . K h B k s

Long sweeping strokes or long hair on the ears. For darkest areas, use short, scribbly

strokes. Ten with your kneaded eraser, lif out the lightest areas.

Use parallel even strokes or the

shiny eucalyptus leaves. Blend

rom dark to light with your

paper stump.

Shorter strokes made with a

mechanical pencil or the ur.

Coarse strokes made with a

4B pencil. Use this or the tree

trunk.

o show the thick ur, scribble in this

pattern, and then ll in with lighter

strokes.

Bright white highlight

bring the eyes to lie.

o ensure you have

enough contrast in your

drawing, compare it

with your value scale.

You should have some

areas as dark as the rightend o your scale, with

gradations all the way up

to white.

The Koala drawings will be

featured in the November issue.

Please return your drawing by August 15.


19/28

I lay eggs

that are only

two to three

inches long. I can

grow to 20 eet in

length and weigh over 1,500pounds, though I am usually

around 16 eet long, weighing

500 pounds. I am ound in

Arica south o the Sahara,

along the River Nile, and in Madagascar.

I eat mammals, reptiles, birds, sh, and even

insects. Who am I?

Justin Phillips, 8

Santa Clarita, CA

D a i s i e s are the happy white owers o springand summer that grow in our elds and roadsides

like white polka dots swaying in the wind. Tey

grow one to two eet tall, and their strong,

slender stems make them perect or

braiding daisy chains. But wouldnt

it be un to have daisies o diferent

colors? With a little efort, you can.

19

Te daisy stems act like a straw,

drinking up the colored water and

turning the white owers to pink, light

yellow, and blue. Te colored liquid moves

rom the glasses up through the stem to

reach the owers.

Experiment to see how many diferent colors

o daisies you can make by mixing diferent ood

colors together. (e.g., red and blue make purple.)

i w g o o o m g c h . t n

by Joanne Linden

Tree tall water glasses

Red, yellow, and blue ood coloring

Water

Fresh-cut daisies (rom the eldor the fower shop)

An old shirt or apron to protect your clothes

Old newspapers to cover the table

Rubber gloves to protect your handsrom staining

M a t e r i a l s

s

s

s

s

s

s

s

D y e i n g D a i s i e s

Fill each glass 1/3 ull o water.

Add ood coloring, one color to each

glass, making a strong solution.

Put a ew resh daisies in each glass.

Let them sit in the solution or severalhoursovernight is best.

(Te longer the daisies stay in the solution,

the darker color they get.)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

VM/

istockphoto.com


20/28j u l y 2 0 0 8 n a t u r e f r i e n d

ow many stars can you see? Tat depends

on two very important considerations: the

weather and your location. I it is cloudy, you

cannot see any stars. But even on a very clear

night, the number o stars you can see depends onwhere you are. I you are ar rom city and night

lights, you can see about 2,000 stars at any one

time. I you are near a city, your sky has much

by Lester E. Showalter

light pollution rom many buildings, signs, and

street lights. People in the city can see only the

very brightest

stars even on

a clear night.

For example,

they could see

the stars o Orion, but probably not the stars o

Cancer.

I light pollution hinders your view o the glory

o God in the heavens, perhaps your amily would

consider traveling an hour rom towns and cities

to see the stars in their splendor. Be sure to take

along binoculars, or a telescope, i you have one.

Tese summer nights make or comortable

H

Te Star Guide and a 105-page

booklet, Discovering Gods Stars, may be

ordered from Nature Friend. Tis booklet

gives instruction for using the Star

Guide, the pronunciation and meaning

of the constellation names, essays on the

stars, and pointers in learning the stars.

call 877-434-0765, or mail a check to

Nature Friend, 4253 Woodcock Lane,

Dayton, VA 22821. Price for set, with

shipping, is $15. Extra for foreign addresses.

T oder:


21/2821 i k h w o s h p w h h m g z P a

stargazing, though

wintertime gives

the clearest skies.

Assuming that

tonight is very

clear and you have

little or no light

pollution, the

eastern sky will

give a view o

the Milky Way

stretched outrom north to

south. Te longer you wait in the night, the higher

and more clearly you will see the Milky Way. Te

Milky Way looks like a long, aint cloud among

the stars. But the Milky Way is not a cloud; it is a

huge strip o stars, so many and so aint that they

blend together to make a milky area in the night

sky.

One o the brightest areas o the Milky Way is

in the constellation Cygnus, the swan. Tis star

picture is commonly called the Northern Cross

because there are our stars that orm the upright

o the cross and three stars that orm the cross

beam. At the top o the cross is the bright star

Deneb, and at the bottom is Albireo, a double star.With 30-power or higher magnication, this is a

very splendid double star, as one is golden and the

other blue. Tese evenings the Northern Cross is

lying on its side just above the eastern horizon.

Between the head and oot star o the cross

is a very rich star eld o the Milky Way. Even

7-power binoculars will make this area burst into

hundreds o stars that you cannot see with the

unaided eye.

What is the Milky Way? Te Milky Way is a

huge amily o stars spread out like a fat wheel

and turning very slowlyso slowly that it does

not appear to be turning at all. All the stars you

can see are part o the Milky Way. We are living on

a planet that is orbiting the Sun that is one o the

stars in the Milky Way. As we view the Milky Way

in the sky, we are looking out through the edge o

the fat wheel. Te Milky Way actually extends the

entire way around the sky. Te part o the MilkyWay we can see in the winter lies between Gemini

and Orion.

A big amily o stars like the Milky Way is called

a galaxy. Tere are millions o galaxies besides the

Milky Way. In the September 2008 Nature Friend

you will learn how to nd another galaxy. s


22/28


Worm-Eating OwlLast night this bit o drama unolded in the yard shortly aer

midnight. Te og was extremely thick aer a day o rain. I saw

through the window that the outside, motion-sensitive light had come

on. I looked out to see the two

resident barred owls perched

in the yard. One was perched

atop a 4x4 post that holds a

bluebird box; the other was

perched about 5 eet o the

ground in the cherry tree just

outside the kitchen window.

Te one in the tree was closely

examining the ground below

it.

Aer sitting there or about

As the monarch larva reaches maturity, it crawls away

rom its host milkweed plant, searching or a suitable

perch. Once it has selected a spot, it weaves a silk mat

rom which to hang. When the mat is complete, the

caterpillar grabs the silk with its rear legs and hangs

upside down. Te ront part o its body curves up to

orm a J shape.

Hours later, a slight color change and a small

amount o movement signal the orthcoming event.

Te skin splits as the caterpillar jerks rom side to

side. In a ew seconds, what was the caterpillar alls

to the ground. What remains is an emerald green

chrysalis that will serve as home or the next two

weeks. Once tucked saely inside the chrysalis, the

larvas molecular structure is broken down and,in a true miracle o God, is reassembled again as a

beautiul new creature.

About 24 hours beore the monarch emerges, the

chrysalis turns clear, exposing the unmistakably

orange and black colors and patterns o our new

buttery. wo things are strikingly apparent as he

rees himsel rom the chrysalis. Te abdomen is

abnormally swollen and the wings are small and

shriveled. Immediately, excess body uid is pumped

2 31

Monarch Butteries

JerryDalrymple

JerryDalrymple

TimQ

uade

RogerMayhorn

RogerMayhorn


23/2823 t h o c h s m g z w c s ! W a

5 64

rom the abdomen through veins into the wings.

Watch, and you can see them expand right beore

your eyes. Tis is a critical time or the monarch; he

must perorm two tasks i he is to survive. First, he

must expand and dry his wings. Secondly, he must

unurl and gain control o his proboscis or eeding

tube. About an hour or so aer the process began, heis ready to y. Warmed and dried by the late summer

sun, this ascinating little creature is o, looking or

his frst meal as a monarch buttery.

As winter approaches, these delicate creatures must

make their way thousands o miles south and west

to wintering grounds in Caliornia and Mexico. Te

monarchs make this amazing trek over prairies,

rivers, expressways, and mountain ranges, arriving

at a winter home they have never seen beore. Here

they will gather by the thousands, waiting or winter

to loosen her grip. And with the onset o spring,

this same brood will make its way north, populating

areas o the United States along the way. As each newgeneration matures, the butteries push their way

arther and arther north. Several generations later,

monarchs can be ound as ar north as Maine and

parts o Canada. Ten, in the all o the year, the last

brood is beckoned back to the wintering grounds and

the cycle repeats itsel all over again.

Jerry Dalrymple

a minute, the owl dropped rom the branch to the

ground, grabbed a night crawler, and gulped it down.

It sat there or a ew seconds, then ew about our

eet and pounced on another worm. Tis one was so

long that the bird had to lean back a little to get it out

o the ground. It then ew back to its perch with the

night crawler dangling rom its beak. Reaching up, it

grasped the worm with its le oot and held it, while

it rearranged its hold on the worm with its beak.

Ten with three quick jerks o its head, it gulped the

night crawler down. Tis went on or a ew minutes,

with the owl getting fve night crawlers, which was a

bit surprising, considering that the thermometer read

36 degrees Fahrenheit.

Meanwhile, the other owl never le its perch on

the post. It just occasionally turned its head to look

around. I dont think it had learned the art o night

crawler grabbing.

Aer the eeding had gone on a short while,

a rabbit shot suddenly out o the darkness rom

the ront o the house. It was chased by one o

the our gray oxes that hang around our yard. Te

rabbit passed within about 10 eet o the eeding

owls perch, startling the owl, then disappeared into

the shadows. Te owl lied rom the branch, circled

around its mate, and disappeared into the og at the

edge o the yard. Te mate never moved. It continued

to sit there and watch as the ox stopped to smell

around the bush the rabbit had passed. Aer a ew

minutes, the ox trotted o into the og, and the one

owl remained sitting on its perch.Roger Mayhorn

JerryDalrymple

JerryDalrymple

JerryDalrymple



ucked into the center o a ower, our

little hunter is all camouaged or the

hunt. She is watching the eeding ground

o her prey, hoping or a juicy meal.

by Kevin Shank

A honeybee is making her rounds, gathering

nectar to carry back to the hive. Indeed, the

honeybee is very busy. Not only is she gathering

nectar, she is pollinating plants by carrying pollen

on her body as she travels. As she moves rom plant

to plant, this ertilizes them and enables the plants

to bear ruit.

Te bee is getting closer now,

only one ower blossom away.

Te white crab spider is well

camouaged on the white ower

blossom. Will the bee come to

her blossom? Will she be able

to capture it? Te last one had

gotten away; in act, the lastseveral.

Here comes the bee, right

into the ower the crab spider

has claimed as her own. It has

been her home or a ew days, ever since the last

ower blossom wilted away. Her once-yellow

body has changed to white to match the color o

istockphoto.com

S

onjaFagnan/i

st

oc

kph

ot

o.

com


25/28


26/28


by Lyndon Martin

he oak tree in your yard looks pretty placid at rst glance. It

stands tall and strong, bowing only to the winds gusty taunts.

Te violet on your windowsill cheers your room as it stares

stoically through the glass, week aer week.

Plants arent as motionless as they look! Plants are living

organisms and move in response to their surroundings, but they

do it very slowly. A tropism is a plants motion towards or away

rom some inuence. Plants must respond to certain stimuli to live

eciently and saely.

Plant tropisms are controlled by small amounts o chemical

messengers that the plant produces. Tese chemicals are called

hormones. Hormones tell plant cells how to behave. Te most

common and inuential hormones in plants are the auxins. Auxinscontrol how plant cells grow in size. When auxins ood into a

certain part o a plant, the cells in that area begin to grow longer and

bigger. Auxins control tropisms.

Sunlight is a major inuence afecting

any green plant. Green plants

use the suns energy to

produce their ood.

Since the ood-making

process takes place inthe leaves o the plant, the

leaves must be oriented toward

the light. I sunlight is shining

on a plant rom primarily one

direction, the stems and lea stems o

the plants respond by turning the leaves in that

direction. Tis response is called phototropism.

How does it happen? When a plant is receiving plenty o light

MatthewCole/istockphoto.com


27/2827 t h o c h s m g z w c s ! W a

rom all directions, there is an equal amount

o auxin in all the cells, so they grow at the

same rate. When light strikes the plant rom

only one direction, the auxins move away rom

the cells on the well-lit side o the stems and

ood into the cells on the dark side. O course,

these dark cells with their extra hormones

grow quickly. Soon the dark side o the stem

is a little longer than the lighted side, and the

whole stem bends so its leaves ace the light.

In trees with hard stems, the individual lea

stems (petioles) carry out phototropism so

that all the leaves are aligned to the sunlight.

God created His plants to respond so that their

leaves would get the maximum amount o

sunlight to make ood!See it or yoursel! Plant two ast-growing

vegetable seeds in separate pots. When the

plants are about 1 inch high, cover the one

seed with a box. Te uncovered plant will

open leaves toward the light and ourish.

Te covered plant will grow a tall, pale stalk

in an attempt to escape the darkness. I you

leave it covered, it will die. I you cut a hole in

a top corner o the box, the plant with growrantically toward the light!

Cut a hole in one end o a long, narrow shoe box.

Glue a cardboard partition to the side o the box

about one-third o the way rom its end. Glue a

similar partition to the other side o the box one-third

o the way rom the boxs other end. Te partitions

should only extend o the boxs width. Plant a

ast-growing seed in a small pot at the end opposite

the hole. Keep an eye on the stem as it winds its way

around the partitions to move its leaves to the light.

I you place a plant near a window, all its leaves will

gradually turn to ace the window. Periodically turn

your window plants to a new position so they grow

evenly.

Geotropism is a plants response to gravity. Plant

roots respond positively to the pull o gravity. Gravity

makes the auxins move to the cells in the top o

the roots. Tese cells enlarge and bend the roots

downward. Stems respond negatively to gravity.

Gravity makes the auxins move to the cells in the

bottom o the stems and enlarge them to bend the

stems upward. Geotropism is important so roots

reach or nutrients in the soil and anchor the plant,

and so stems reach upward or sunlight.

You can veriy geotropism by laying a small pottedplant on its side. Te stems will soon bend and grow

upward. I you uncover the roots, you will discover

they have turned downward.

Other tropisms include thigmotropism, a plants

response to touch. When an ivy tendril touches an

object, it curls around the object to help the ivy plant

climb. Hydrotropism occurs when a plants roots grow

toward water. s

ChrisRuch/istockphoto.com


28/28

Documents

Nfm July 2008 72dpi PDF