MY WOODLAND INTIMATES 



but in each instance delicate spikes, bars, 

 points, and all the fairy fretwork vanished before 

 I had time for anything but the most superficial 

 of inspections. 



Although the wind has relieved the branches 

 of much of their snowy drapery, enough still 

 remains for a universal Christmas-tree effect. 

 Santa Claus and his reindeer careering through 

 the pine-tops would not seem at all incongruous 

 in this Arctic setting. 



This winding path always rewards those who 

 enter it with seeing eyes. What will it reveal to 

 us of furred or feathered life on this icy day when 

 our warmest wraps are called into requisition and 

 our well-protected feet and fingers tingle with 

 the cold ? 



My question is immediately answered, for 

 there goes a brown creeper on his plodding, spiral 

 way. Watch for what looks like a piece of mov- 

 ing bark on that nearest elm if you would recog- 

 nize him. How do the numb claws maintain 

 their grasp, and what insect life can the little 

 bird possibly dislodge on this frozen day? Yet he 

 seems to be finding something very satisfactory in 

 the elm-bark crevices. Larvae a la glace is perhaps 

 a favorite dish with insectivorous feathered folk. 



[106] 



