APRIL SHOWERS 



into new bloom. Like the sweet gale they 

 seem to have put on new color of gold 

 almost in a night, for they made yellow 

 gleams that were like blossoms all about 

 on the bare twigs, their black wings mak- 

 ing the color more vivid by contrast. Yes- 

 terday it was, or was it the day before, 

 that these lovely singers were going about 

 in sober brown, like sparrows. Now sud- 

 denly they are splashes of tropic sunshine. 



It is their mating plumage which they 

 will wear until late August puts them in 

 brown again. They are so happy about 

 it, and their rich, variable songs are such 

 a delight that I am glad they do not quit 

 wooing and go to nest-building until late 

 June, the latest, I think, of all our birds. 



And while I listened to the goldfinches 



a tiny bit of the sky fell. It lighted on a 



leaf by me, and expanded its wings and 



enjoyed the full sun. It was one of the 



173 



