Birds, glorious birds

Ruffed Grouse

Robin eating crab apples

Brood of Mallard chicks

Canada Geese flying south for the winter

Cedar Waxwing

Brewer's Blackbirds

Sandhill Crane

Brown Thrasher

Hello!  Er...chickens

Herring Gull

Mama Loon with Baby on her back

Cammoflage Critters

It is remarkable how God has equipped so many animals with their own cammoflage[1] so that they can blend into their environment[2] and stay safe from predation[3]. Many times this means of protection keeps these animals from being eaten by other animals. By staying very still, animals with cammoflage keep from being seen by their natural enemies and escape danger. When out on an adventure in nature, keep your eyes open for animals that may be close to you but hidden by their coloring. In time you will learn to see these animals and your outdoor adventures will be filled with fun surprises as you learn to see rather than just look around you.

Photo courtesy of Ashley Trujillo

The baby cottontail rabbit above is colored like the dirt and brush around it. The tiny lines of dark fur mixed in with its dirt-colored fur make it blend into its environment. Because it holds so still, it is easy to walk right past it without ever seeing it!

The grey squirrel in the above picture stretches out on a grey branch of a maple tree. Can you see him and his bushy tail?

The female woodcock above has her back to you because she is trying to lead you away from her babies. She is easy to see on the gravel road, but when she gets into the woods she seems to disappear. Her feathers are so mottled [4] that she looks like part of the forest floor. You will only see her after you almost step on her and she flies away and leaves you with your mouth open.

Because baby animals are especially vulnerable[5] to predation, God often gives them a cammoflage that makes them look different than their parents. The baby robin above is all speckled, making it hard to see when it holds still and is quiet.

This western ground squirrel, like it's cousin the Franklin's ground squirrel which it resembles, has speckled fur so that it can blend into rocks, grass, or bare dirt.

Above is a picture of an American Toad in the little mud house it found in a vegetable garden. The toad blends into the dirt so well that I placed an arrow pointing to it. If you look closely you can see the toad's eye and then the rest of its body.

There are few critters more cute than a new-born fawn. Fawns have speckles on them for many months, helping them hide in the woods and grass they live in. This little fawn was so well hidden that I had to look for a long time to find it, even though I saw where it had laid down in the grass!

Don't worry, the critter above is not a snake! It is a Northern Prairie Skink, which is a small lizard. The stripes on its body make it disappear in grass, but should it get caught by the tail it has another trick given to it by God: its tail will come right off as the skink hurries away! The skink will then grow another tail and be as good as new.

Baby birds are not the only ones to have some cammoflage. The Song Sparrow pictured above has stripes to help it hide. See how well it blends into the apple tree it is sitting on?

Lastly, we have those critters that can actually change color to blend into
their environment. This tree frog sitting on top of a sunflower has changed to green so that the bugs can't see him as he hunts them. If he hops over to a tree and climbs that (yes, treefrogs can climb!) he will change to a mottled grey color to hide on the bark of the tree.

These are just a few of the many kinds of critters with a God-given cammoflage. Keep your eyes open as you go out to enjoy nature; watch for any little movement that may help you see a hidden animal; and be prepared for surprises when an animal you haven't seen takes off from right beside you and runs away!

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Endnotes:

[1] Cammoflage (cam-oh-flah-juh): color pattern that helps something escape being seen.

[2] Environment (en-vie-ron-ment): the area an animal lives in made up of grasses, trees, or similar things.

[3] Predation (preh-day-shun): hunting, catching, and eating another animal.

[4] Mottled (mah-tell-ed): spotted or blotchy markings or colors.

[5] Vulnerable (vul-ner-uh-bull): easily caught and eaten.

America the Beautiful

We are blessed to live in a country with a diversity of natural beauty just waiting to be enjoyed and shared with those we love. May God bless America!

Rainbow over Blackduck Lake, northern Minnesota

Snowmelt makes a charming waterfall in Glacier National Park, Montana

Sandstone formations are exposed by the wind in
Teddy Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota

Amber waves of grain in Eastern Montana

Low tide in Puget Sound, Washington

Dry wash in the Rocky Mountains, Montana

Waves roll in off the Pacific Ocean, Gray's Harbor, Washington

Overlooking the Yellowstone River,

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

A trail winds through the Autumn woods, northern Minnesota

Wispy clouds pass in front of a mountain, western Montana

A geyser erupts in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Basalt formations form a palisade above the Yellowstone River,

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Flaming maples against the Autumn sky, northern Minnesota

Going to the Sun Mountain, Glacier National Park, Montana

St. Mary Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana

Sunset over the Rocky Mountains, southwestern Montana

Calm bay on Lake Kabetogama in northern Minnesota

Red sandstone bluff, northern Wyoming

Beartooth Mountain, southern Montana

Sunset sets the sky ablaze, southeastern Minnesota

Mineral springs form intricate designs,

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Lazy clouds drift through a valley in the mountains, western Montana

Volcanic action heaves the mountainous stone to form "the Devil's Slide"

Southern Montana

A peaceful glacial lake nestled in the mountains,

Glacier National Park, Montana

Sunset over Rainy Lake, northern Minnesota

Day on the Lake

There is nothing like a relaxing day out on the lake to make a person refreshed inside. Even when the fish aren't biting there is so much to see and enjoy that there is never a dull moment. Below are some pictures from my latest weekend on the lake. These are just a few of the many wonders of nature waiting for those who leave the world of hustle and bustle behind and enter the world of God's created beauty. Get out and enjoy!

Above and below: a Great Blue Heron obligingly drops in for a photo.

Below: a male Redwing blackbird displays his finery to attract a mate.

Below: A hen and drake Mallard were sleeping on a log and woke up when we dropped in.
Notice how the ducks sleep while standing on one foot. How do they keep their balance?

Below: after a sip of lake water, the hen Mallard preens her feathers.
What care she takes to make sure that the one pesky feather lies just so!

Below: the hen scratches her head and the drake lazily

opens an eye to see what all the commotion is about.

Below: a Bald Eagle, our nation's emblem, sits in a pine tree looking over the lake.

Below: a Common Loon rears up on the water and challenges us

as we approach the cattails on one side of the bay.

Below: the mystery of the challenging loon is solved as we see a loon's nest

carefully camouflaged in the cattails. The nest is nearly as big around

as a car tire and the eggs are quite large and slightly speckled.

Below: the loon calms down as we move away from the nest.

Below: a shot of Sullivan Bay on Lake Kabetogama where all but two of these

pictures were taken. It is beautiful serenity like this that makes the lake a

great place to relax and recover your spirits after a day at work or school.

The beauty of God's creation is just a dim foretaste of His own beauty. Why not get out

and explore the natural world...it is there waiting to be discovered and enjoyed!