OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



on the grass in front of the house. We watched them 

 from the windows of my room and they seemed astound- 

 ingly fearless. 



August 23. The last fledgling of the last brood of 

 wrens left my window box by six o'clock this morn 

 ing. This was the second brood in the same nest this 

 year, but whether or not the same pair of wrens, quien 

 sabe? I shall miss their joyous trilling and the de 

 tails of their housekeeping, which I have watched at 

 such close quarters through so many months. How 

 any birdlings can have the courage to leave the nest for 

 the first flight is a continual mystery to me! The 

 fluttering of wings at the sight of food is of course a 

 kind of providential exercise preparing the muscles to 

 bear later the full weight of the body. 



September 15. A brilliant day. As I leaned far 

 out of my window to drink in the delicious air of the 

 morning, I saw a curious sight. Circling high over 

 the lawn, far above the tallest trees were between 

 forty and fifty big birds which I did not know. They 

 were not gulls although their wings were wide, neither 



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