In a Mission Patio. 



during my stay there. Many of our 

 most familiar little birds about San 

 Francisco Bay were equally common 

 also, such as the green-backed goldfinch, 

 the California brown towhee, the spurred 

 towhee, Gambel's white-crowned spar- 

 row and the ash-throated flycatcher. 

 The valley-quail was common in the 

 underbrush along the streams, and the 

 mourning-dove flashed over the mead- 

 ows upon its swift pinions. Anna's 

 hummer had sampled all of the old 

 sacristan's flowers, just as in the olden 

 time when it had buzzed about the gar- 

 den and over the padre's head as he 

 walked there in meditation. 



Yes, the birds and the flowers are 

 about the only things surrounding the 

 mission that have not changed. Even 

 the trees have grown old — the olive 

 trees planted in the early days, the pep- 

 per trees of later date, and the immense 

 prickly pear hedge — these are all dif- 

 ferent; but the Indian tobacco plant is 

 the same as a century ago, hanging 



