discover nature

December 6 - December 12

Discover Nature this week as Missouri’s wildlife den up or hibernate to avoid the cold.

Winter is a challenge for wildlife and many species have various methods of surviving the cold.

Some animals leave the state and don’t come back until spring. Others find sheltered dens and sleep until spring. Some remain in Missouri and stay active through the winter, but they still have specials ways of handling the cold weather.

Discover Nature this week and your Thanksgiving turkey.

Chances are a turkey will land on your table this week -- a bird simmered in American tradition. The turkey was once so common in America and so well liked, that when United States officials were deciding on a national mascot there was much deliberation between the bald eagle and the turkey.

Discover Nature this week and a natural mystery called lichen.

"United we stand, divided we fall". And so it is with lichens.

A lichen is made up of two unrelated organisms: a fungus and an algae. If the fungus and the algae were divided, the lichen would no longer exist. 

The fungus gives the lichen form and shape -- it also holds water and slows evaporation. The algae, a green plant, provides food for the fungus.

Lichens look like nature's living carpet and are often seen covering rocks and trees in Missouri's Ozark region.

November 15 - November 21

Discover nature this week by making something that will keep you discovering nature all winter long – a bird feeder.

According to a Missouri Department of Conservation survey, one and a half million Missourians enjoy bird feeding. Even on the dreariest winter day, watching the freedom and brilliant feathers of a bird in flight or their interactions as they enjoy a meal of sunflower seeds in your back yard can lift a foggy mood.

Take an early morning hike in the late autumn air this week and Discover Nature in Missouri’s most fleeting flower - that isn’t really a flower at all.

Frost flowers are delicate white blossoms that occur during the first hard frosts each fall when moisture squeezes through cracks in the stem and freezes into frosty Wribbons, rosebuds or other artistic looking shapes.