A LINE A D A Y 



peanut frozen to the brick floor of the terrace. How lie tugs and 

 braces himself on the slippery surface, almost tumbling over at 

 some particularly hearty blow, then recovering himself, only to sit 

 down suddenly as his feet slip out from under him! But he is up 

 and at it again fiercely, now piercing the shell, and at last succeeds 

 in taking out the kernel whole, and off he goes to enjoy the fruit of 

 his labor. 



Feb. 9 To-night we went out to see where the downy wood- 

 pecker sleeps. He had been busy excavating holes all through 

 December, and the one he chose to finish was some twelve inches 

 deep and about three inches wide, on the under side of a horizontal 

 lichen-covered rafter in the roof of the pergola, close by the house. 

 Here he slept, lying so flat on the floor of his dwelling that even with 

 the aid of mirror and ladder it was almost impossible to see him: 

 but a few soft gray feathers caught in the bark at the entrance to 

 the hole betrayed him, and a gentle poke with a stick assured us of 

 his presence. 



Feb. 11 Seven squirrels, two blue-jays, four hairy and a 

 pair of downy woodpeckers, four nuthatches, six chickadees, and a 

 junco looked in upon us to-day, incidentally helping themselves to 

 the chopped suet and peanuts, the corn and bread crumbs, in the 

 out-of-door dining-room. The tracks of the ruffed grouse are 

 plainly to be seen in the snow around the ground corn, spread near 

 the hooded entrance. Here, too, a white-crowned sparrow has 



found desirable winter quarters. 



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