2011 Natural Events Calendar Now Available

If you have any nature lovers on your Christmas shopping list and don’t know what to get them, I can help you with that. The 26th edition of the Department’s Natural Events Calendar is now available for sale at our nature centers and regional offices and online through our Nature Shop.

For those who are unfamiliar with this calendar, you owe it to yourself to check out the beautiful photos from Department staff and volunteers. From January’s bald eagle flying through snow to December’s sunset atop Hughes Mountain, the monthly photos appear in appropriate seasonal order. Additional images are found on the front, inside the front cover and on the back. Most days of each month include brief notes of what might be happening that day. You surely don’t want to miss the beginning of the American woodcock breeding season or the ripening of wild black cherries. The calendar is guaranteed to make the occupant of any sterile office cubicle want to take the afternoon off and go for a hike.

Although restricted to plants, animals and landscapes within Missouri, I have standing orders for this calendar from my relatives in Wyoming, Nebraska and Mississippi. My advice is that if you give this calendar once, be prepared to continue giving it every year thereafter, if family harmony is important to you. The calendar costs $7 with additional shipping cost added to online orders. Heritage Card holders will receive a 15-percent discount on the cost of calendars as well as other MDC merchandise.