266 



NATURE'S CALENDAR 



December 22 



matter how deep/as do the Lapland rein- 

 deer) to get at the moss and "berries be- 

 neath it. 



" Now for short days and early twilight," 

 exclaims Thoreau, "in which I hear the 

 sound of wood-chopping. The sun goes 

 down behind a low cloud and the world 

 is darkened. The partridge is budding 

 on the apple-tree and bursts away from 

 the path-side. ... As I walk along the 

 side of the hill a pair of nuthatches flit 

 by towards a walnut-tree, flying low in 

 mid -course, and then ascending to the 

 tree. I hear one's faint tut-iiit or qiiah- 

 quah (no doubt heard a good way oflf by 

 its mate, now flown to the next tree) as it 

 is ascending the trunk or branch of a wal- 

 nut in a zigzag manner, wriggling along, 

 prying into the crevices of the bark ; and 

 now it has found a savory morsel which 

 it pauses to devour; then flits to a new 

 bough." 



Bv the time the cold weather of the 

 month has really set in, an ornithologist 

 who lives in the northern part of the 

 United States finds many new birds await- 

 ing his walks, and usually inclined to be 

 friendly to his advances. Sometimes 

 these appear very early, which is an indi- 

 cation that extra severe weather is pre- 

 vailing in boreal regions, and then it is 

 safe to guess that our own winter will be 

 colder than usual. 



Among the greater rarities occasionally 

 seen from December to March is the Bo- 



December 23 



