358 HOMING WITH THE BIRDS 



chicken park only a few yards away, where they 

 daily both see and hear our chickens. The hen- 



Wren carrying body of dragonfly, stripped of its wings 



house windows stand open all summer. The great 

 horned owls banish sleep for us many a summer 

 night, hunting through the woods and thickets 

 around the Cabin. They sometimes alight on the 

 roof to tear up screaming groundhogs and otlier 

 prey that look the size of an average cat, but they 

 never yet have disturbed our chickens. 



The martins and swallows have the air for their 

 province. On tireless wings, with open mouths, 

 they sieve the air, taking millions of tiny gnats, 

 mosquitoes, and flies, that would make life alto- 

 gether unbearable for us were we compelled to 



