164 The Nature-Study Idea 



But the brook is one degree the better now 

 just because it remains a brook all winter. The 

 winter is the best season of the four because 

 there is more mystery in it. There is a new and 

 strange spirit in the air. There are strange 

 bird-calls in the depths of the still white woods. 

 There are strange marks in the new-fallen snow. 

 There are soft noises when the snow drops from 

 the trees. There are grotesque figures on the 

 old fence. There is the warm brown pathway 

 of the brook still winding up between oozing 

 banks. In the spring there are troops of flower- 

 gatherers along the brook. In the summer 

 there are fishers at the deep pools. In the fall 

 there are nut-gatherers and aimless wanderers. 

 In the winter the brook and I are alone. We 

 know. 



Most of us, I fear, look on winter with 

 some feeling of dread and apprehension. It is 

 to be endured. This feeling it partly clue to 

 the immense change that comes with the ap- 

 proach of winter. The trees are bare. The 

 leaves are drifting into the fence-rows. The 

 birds have flown. The deserted country roads 



