BERRIES 
English privet were equally attractive, and the birds 
found their shiny berries very palatable. Frost sweet- 
ened the purple clusters of wild grapes on the arbor 
and improved the flavor of the Indian currants. 
Rare birds, driven southward by the icy winds 
of the North, sometimes invaded the garden; among them 
were beautiful pine and evening grosbeaks, strange A- 
merican and white-winged crossbills, redpolls, and the 
lovely snow buntings. They found food to their taste in 
the mountain ash berries and fruit of the sumac, ever- 
green buds, and seeds of various grasses. On cold stormy 
nights these feathered visitors found warm sleeping quar~ 
ters in the clumps of thick-leaved evergreens -- red ce~ 
dar, cypress, arbor vitae, and juniper -~ which drew in 
sheltered corners about the house and among the shrub- 
bery. 
Nothing gave Grandmother such pleasure during 
dreary February days as the presence of these charm-~ 
ing winter birds about her home. The queer antics 
of the chickadees and nuthatches, and peculiar habits 
of the woodpeckers, furnished a never ending enter~ 
tainment; while the appearance of a strange bird in 
the garden was an epoch making event. 
Unlike that of the purely ornamental garden, its 
greatest charm lay in its natural simplicity, the 
hardy character of its lusty shrubs, and the luxuri~ 
ant growth of its wealth of simple flowers; while 
the pulse of feathered life that beat within its bore 
ders filled Grandmother's heart with Joy. 
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