Get Outside

Ways to connect with nature.

Moonlight Canoeing

Friday, Aug. 16 • 7–10 p.m. Cape Girardeau Conservation Nature Center 2289 County Park Drive, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701 Registration required. Visit mdc.mo.gov/southeastevents. Call 573-290-5218 for more information. Ages 12 and older

Watch the near-full moon rise on a warm summer night at Perry County Lake. Expect to see nocturnal creatures and hear the chorus of frogs as we paddle as a group. Canoes and instruction will be provided.

Sumac Stand

Lemonade is a drink we associate with hot summer days. Why not try something a little different — sumacade. Sumac is a shrub that forms thickets along roadsides and fencerows, and it produces cone-shaped clusters of rusty red berries that are ripe for the picking.

• Collect a dozen sumac clusters and shake out all the bugs.
• Submerge the clusters in a large bowl filled with water, and rub them until the powder that coats the berries turns the water pink.
• Strain the water through an old (but clean) tea towel into a pitcher.
• Add sugar and ice. Now you have a new twist on a summer refresher.

What’s the Rub

Male white-tailed deer rub the velvet off their antlers in August. Take a hike through the woods and look for their rubs on small trees.

Nature’s Bait

Annual cicadas emerge this time of year, often referred to as the dog days of summer. These large, winged insects make their presence known with loud, raspy calls. But did you also know they make excellent fishing bait? You can find them near trees in heavily forested areas, woods, and parks.

Ozark Region: Family Fishing Day

Family Fishing Day Saturday, Aug. 24 • 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Twin Pines Conservation Education Center Rt. 1, Box 1998, Winona, MO 65588 No registration required. Call 573-325-1381 for more information. All ages

Do you wish you could get away and enjoy a little time as a family? Join the Twin Pines staff as we host our annual Family Fishing Day. Enjoy grilled hot dogs and lemonade. Compete to see who can catch the most or the biggest fish. Let the kids try their hand at making a fish print tee shirt or other craft. Try your luck at our free prize drawing. Or you
can just relax in the shade of one of Missouri’s pines. For this event only, no Missouri fishing license is required.

Baby on Board

Female copperheads give birth to live babies in August. If you see one of these beautiful snakes, enjoy watching it from a safe distance. Remember, copperheads are venomous.

Find more events in your area at mdc.mo.gov/events

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Natural Events to See This Month

• Here’s what’s going on in the natural world.
• Snapping turtle eggs begin hatching
• Wild cherries ripen
• Pocketbook mussels begin breeding
• Badgers begin breeding
• Thirteen-lined and Franklin’s ground squirrels begin to gorge

Find more events in your area at mdc.mo.gov/events