Get Outside in August

Jammin’ in August

If you enjoy making — or eating — jams and jellies, August is your month. Mulberries, elderberries, black cherries, and gooseberries are ripe for picking. They all make excellent jams and jellies.

An Eight-Spotted Encore

Eight-spotted foresters are taking one more flight across Missouri’s woodlands. These spiffy, fast-darting, black-and-white flyers are one of the few moths that fly during the daytime. They take their first tour in spring, and they come back for an encore flight in August. To learn more, see Page 32.

Hail to the Hawthorn

In 1923, downy hawthorn (Crataegus mollis) was approved as Missouri’s official state flower. The downy hawthorn is a small native tree with showy, white 1-inch flowers that bloom in clusters from late April through early May. Red, round fruits form in late August through September. This species is just one of dozens of hawthorns that occupy almost every kind of soil across the state.

Summer’s Final Song

Let’s be honest — August in Missouri is hot! It’s so hot, even the birds don’t want to sing. But fear not! There are two birds willing to carry the load and sing summer’s final song. 

Red-eyed vireos, which are hard to spot, sing a monotonous series of two-, three-, or four-syllable whistles, with alternating up- and down-slurred phrases. Their call is a burry vray or tjay.

Indigo buntings sing a series of whistled couplets — sweet-sweet, tew-tew, chew-chew — each slightly lower in pitch. Their call is a sharp spit.

Conservation Near You

Craving more local conservation connections? Find events near you at mdc.mo.gov/events, or catch the latest on social media. Reach out to your closest regional office and learn about events from MDC staff. Outdoor fun awaits. Get out there!