Camp is a great place to appreciate God’s creation—
to learn good stewardship of the earth
to learn confidence in being outdoors
to learn to care for it properly
Take a Hike!
Can you name the different trees that you see?
Are there wildflowers blooming?
How many birds can you identify by their call?
What is the most unusual thing you find?
Those aren’t yellow flowers in a field at camp. That’s the sun shining through the trees!
How does the sunshine change your view?
When was the last time you laid in the grass looking up at the sky?
What did you see?
An elephant?
A dog?
Mickey Mouse?
Find some time this week to see just how creative God is!
Upcoming Nature Moments to watch for...
Leaves require sunlight, water, chlorophyll and carbon dioxide to make food for themselves.
As winter approaches, leaves make a coating for themselves which blocks their water source; in the absence of water, the leaves no longer produce chlorophyll (chlorophyll is what makes leaves green).
When the leaves turn colors in the fall, they actually are returning to their normal colors. During the summer months, the chlorophyll present in the leaves causes the leaves to turn green, blocking the leaves' actual colors.
Along with chlorophyll, leaves contain two other chemicals that cause coloring. The first is called xanthophyll, which is yellow in color. The other is carotene, which is orange in color.
Red and purple leaves are actually caused by the presence of sugars from sap that is trapped inside of the leaves.
Once the leaves have turned brown, they are dead and no longer receive any nutrients.
The W pattern of Cassiopeia is tipping nearly vertically, high in the northeast after dusk.
Orion is a constellation that shines brightly in the winter! It's a standout. Look for the three stars in a row that make up his belt, then look for the rest of him.
Halloween is approaching and this means that Arcturus, the star sparkling low in the west-northwest in twilight, is taking on its role as "the Ghost of Summer Suns." What does this mean? For several days centered on October 29th every year, Arcturus occupies a special place above your local landscape. It closely marks the spot in your sky where the sun stood at the same time, by the clock, during warm June and July — in broad daylight, of course. So, in the last days of October each year, you can think of Arcturus as the chilly Halloween ghost of the departed summer sun.
“This fall, the brightest object in the evening sky, other than the sun and moon, is the king of our solar system: Jupiter,” Furton said.
As summer came to its end, Jupiter was exactly opposite the sun in the sky in a configuration astronomers call opposition — rising at sunset and setting at sunrise. When a planet is at opposition, it is as close to earth as it ever gets. As autumn wears on, Jupiter remains high in the evening sky on display for all to see.
This autumn, full moons will be on display four times, when normally there are just three full moons during any given season.
The dates of the fall full moons are Sept. 21, Oct. 23, Nov. 21, and Dec. 21.
Through the evening of Dec. 13 into the early morning hours of Dec. 14, look to the sky to witness the Geminid meteor shower.
“Brave the cold to see up to 100 or so meteors per hour,” Furton said. “This year, the moon will set early, leaving the sky a dark canvas to be streaked by colorful shooting stars.”
