PROMISE OF MAY 



thousand or so of the eggs of the green 

 frog, Rana clamitans, and no doubt 

 those of the hylas and wood frogs were to 

 be found nearby. The new-moon cove is 

 a famous frog rendezvous, and a month 

 from now the night there will be clamor- 

 ous with the cries of many species. You 

 would never believe there were so many 

 varieties till you begin to hunt them by ear. 

 A pair of robins came and inspected 

 their last year's nest in a willow over the 

 water, and I saw there a left-over king- 

 bird's, still holding the space, though the 

 kingbirds themselves will not be back to 

 claim it before the fifth or sixth of May. 

 A silent black and white creeper slipped 

 up and down and all in and about the 

 shoreward bushes, gleaning stealthily and 

 persistently, always with a watchful eye 

 out for possible danger. This watchful- 

 ness did not cease when the bird finished 

 191 



