Get Out!

Fun things to do and great places to discover nature.

• Not all spiders spin delicate, beautiful webs. Purseweb spiders live in tough silken tubes that look like dirty socks. Search the bottoms of tree trunks for the 6- to 12-inch-long tubes. Mosses and lichens may grow on them, which makes the spider’s house look like a stubby vine.
• The Katy Trail is Missouri’s longest and skinniest state park. Late September, when temperatures cool and trees begin to blaze, is a perfect time to bike a stretch of the Katy. Nearly a dozen conservation areas line the trail and offer places to fish, camp, explore, or make a scenic pit stop. To plan your trip, pedal over to katytrailstatepark.com.
• In mid-September, orange-and-black monarch butterflies flutter thousands of miles south to spend winter in Mexico. You can help biologists track their movements by catching migrating monarchs and sticking tiny identification tags on their wings. Learn how at monarchwatch.org/tagging.
• When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. If you’re lemonless, find some sumac. Sumac is a shrub that forms thickets along roadsides and fencerows. In September, it produces cone-shaped clusters of rusty-red berries. Collect a dozen clusters and shake out the bugs. Submerge the clusters in a bowl of water, and rub the berries until the water turns pink. Strain the water through a towel into a pitcher. Add sugar and ice, then toast the end of summer.
• October is a great month to catch one last look at colorful wildflowers. Look for goldenrods gleaming along roadsides, purple asters brightening the edges of pastures and woodlands, and cardinal flowers blazing along Ozark streams.

Looking for more ways to have fun outside? Find out about Discover Nature programs in your area at mdc.mo.gov/events.