Ranger Rick articles from March 1996

Ranger Rick archives from March 1996

Secret of the swamp. (will-o'-the-wisp sighting in a swamp)
March 1, 1996... Doing these dumb nature journals for school was one thing. But then our science teacher took us to a haunted swamp--at night! Monday, March 6 OK--I'm writing in this dumb journal. It's bad enough that, because of Dad's job, I had to move...

Plants are no wimps! (facts about how plants protect themselves)
March 1, 1996... Plants may seem like real stick-in-the-muds. But they've got some amazing tricks up their leaves--and flowers and roots and . . . WEIGHT LIFTERS Ever see a dandelion growing right through a driveway? Sometimes seeds fall into cracks, and...

Do wild dogs bark? You're a wild dog, so you should know.(Ask Scarlett)
March 1, 1996... ASK SCARLETT Do wild dogs bark? You're a wild dog, so you should know. Rachel Niemuth; Rhinelander, WI Rrruf, rrruf, RRRUF! How's that for a wild bark? (You should hear how loud I can bark when Cubby Bear tries to snitch my food!)...

Why is space so dark if the sun is out there?(Ask Scarlett)
March 1, 1996... Why is space so dark if the sun is out there? Brendan McManus; Yardley, PA Because sunlight has to hit something in order to light it up. In the space between the moon and planets, there's nothing for the sunlight to hit. It just zips on...

Guess where they nest. (bird nests)
March 1, 1996... Hanging out in a tree hole is great for this baby woodpecker. But where else do young birds grow up? Just about any place you can imagine! Birds seem to be everywhere in spring. They chirp and sing and chase each other around. They flash their...

Adventures of Ranger Rick: the mystery of the shrinking - and vanishing - tortoises. (short story)
March 1, 1996... Boomer Badger hunched over a round, brown rock in the middle of the desert and peered through a magnifying glass. "Nope," he said, "that's sure not a tortoise." Meanwhile, Morgan Mockingbird circled high above the dry and dusty ground....

More facts. (about efforts to protect desert tortoises)
March 1, 1996... The United States government does have a new plan for protecting desert tortoises and helping them make a comeback. But very little money has been put aside to hire rangers. And without enough rangers to watch over the tortoises, careless people...

Peeper power! (peeper frogs)
March 1, 1996... Winter's just about over. How can you tell? Just listen! In many places, the damp night air rings with the sound of tiny treefrogs called spring peepers. But there's nothing tiny about the peepers' peeps. First you may notice one PEEP here,...

Go peeper peeking! (how to find and observe peeper frogs)
March 1, 1996... Ever been on a spring peeper hunt? It's easy to hear these mini power-peepers. (For more about that, see pages 34-37.) But to see one? That's a challenge! The tips here are for peeking at peepers. But you can hunt for any frogs during their...

Spring fun! (craft activities; helping birds build a nest and making a rabbit decoration)
March 1, 1996... You can give your neighborhood birds a head start on nest building. Make them a String Thing this spring! Here's how: You'll need a little berry basket from the supermarket. Hang different lengths of wool yarn, cotton string, human and animal...

No-go Yugos. (non-working, non-repairable Yugo automobiles are turned into works of art)
March 1, 1996... The Yugo was a no-go car--until this group of artists came along. They went Yugo crazy! One day, a teacher named Kevin O'Callaghan saw some kids playing ball. They'd painted a strike zone on the side of an old car. When Kevin asked about the...