62 MY WOODLAND. 



der, through which a spring-fed brook loiters and 

 sings. Sometimes I ramble in this part of the 

 woods and sometimes in the other, as I list, feeling 

 that there is no area in wliich I am not a welcome 

 guest. 



Yes, I always feel at home in this retreat, the 

 sense of strangeness having long since worn away. 

 I have cultivated the acquaintance not onl}^ of the 

 woodland itself, so that it seems like a personal 

 friend, but also of the live creatures that dwell 

 here ; and pleasant companions they have been. 

 There are rabbits, chipmunks, red and gray squir- 

 rels here in abundance, for they are protected by 

 laAv ; but I have given my attention chiefly to the 

 birds. In some parts of the woodland I seldom 

 find a bird, and others seem to be avoided by them 

 entirely. Why this is so I cannot explain. Much 

 as I have questioned my winged associates, not 

 one of them has taken me into his confidence on 

 this point. 



However, there are other sections of the woods 

 that are favorite haunts for the birds. For instance, 

 at the edge of a thick tanglewood, where nearly all 

 the tall trees and saplings have been cut down, 

 but where there is a dense growth of bushes and 

 briers, feathered creatures of some kind may 



