A YEAR WITH NATURE. 



Any essay on Nature would be far from complete without 

 allusion to the song of this bird. Even Marie Corelli in her 

 fascinating book "The Mighty Atom" could not refrain from 

 mentioning it, and beautifully depicts the scene thus: There 

 sailed a stray bit of fleecy cloud, here flew a swift-winged 

 swallow, and immediately above him, quivering aloft among 

 the sunbeams like a jewel suspended in mid-heaven, carolled 

 a lark, with all that tender joyousness which has inspired 

 one of the sweetest of our English poets to write of it 

 thus: 



'From out the roseate cloud, athwart the blue, 



I hear thee sound anew 

 That song of thine a-shimmering down the sky, 



And daisies, touched thereby, 

 Look up to thee in tears which men mistake for dew. 



Thou hast within thy throat a peal of bells, 



Dear dainty fare-thee-wells. 

 And like a flame dost leap from cloud to cloud: 



Is't this that makes thee proud? 

 Or is't that nest of thine, deep hidden in the dells?' 



Marie Corelli quotes further stanzas from the writer of these 

 delightful verses Eric Mackay but I have selected the two 

 which in my opinion are the most beautiful. 



In all these sweet songs about the Lark we must not, however, 

 forget the other sights and sounds on a June morning. Sylvan 

 scenes abound with joy and happiness after the warm refreshing 

 rains, the earth teems with insect life, the air is resonant with 

 the songs of innumerable happy birds. Shady nooks, ferny 

 dales, and the whole woodland rings with the fluty notes of 

 Blackbird or Thrush. 



Running nimbly up the venerable oak which is covered 

 with beautiful silver lichen, interspersed with other gorgeous 

 hues the Squirrel is seen. So soon as he reaches a fork in the 

 tree, down he squats on his hind quarters, and with his keen 

 eye watches our movements. Then, observing us moving, he 

 again ascends to the next storey, and on again, until we lose 

 sight of him as he skims along the highest twigs from tree top 

 to tree top with wonderful agility. Whilst watching here, we 

 notice some newly-bored holes in a fir tree, and on tapping the 



