*. '.66 WINTER 



] of fruiting dogwood and holly, cedars in berry, 

 ' dwarf sumac and seedy sedges, while patches on the .*' 

 > wood slopes uncovered by the sun were spread with ( :* 

 <^ trailing partridge-berry and the coral-fruited winter- < ' 



green. I had eaten part of my dinner with the 'pos-< 

 ^: Ye/ sum; now I picked a quantity of these wintergreen 

 5 ''/''. -, berries, and continued my meal with the birds. I '>* 

 P ' ;' And they too, like the 'possum, had enough, and ; 

 t . 'to spare. 



V * Among the birds in the tangle was a large flock' 

 A i of northern fox sparrows, whose vigorous and con-^j 

 ^ N \f tinuous scratching in the bared spots made a most ' 

 (* ^% lively and cheery commotion. Many of them were'. 

 ' splashing about in tiny pools of snow-water, melted ^ '' 

 partly by the sun and partly by the warmth of their ; 

 bodies as they bathed. One would hop to a softening ; ' 

 'k bit of snow at the base of a tussock, keel over and \ ;' 

 *. begin to flop, soon sending up a shower of sparkling?' ^ 

 { drops from his rather chilly tub. A winter snow- < ' 

 1 water bath seemed a necessity, a luxury indeed; for v , 

 ^ they all indulged, splashing with the same purpose ; ) 

 and zest that they put into their scratching among ]" % 

 V \;''f the leaves. ;. ' 



( A much bigger splashing drew me quietly through < i 



V /the bushes to find a marsh hawk giving himself a i 

 \ ,' Christmas souse. The scratching, washing, and talk- 

 f ,', ing of the birds; the masses of green in the cedars, < 



holly, and laurels; the glowing colors of the berries <' J 

 '; i against the snow; the blue of the sky, and the golden / ' 



