PREFACE 



I WAS standing against a tall stump in the 

 edge of a woods opening when a black bear 

 walked by. He stopped, took a good look at 

 me, bristled up, edged away, stopped for an- 

 other look. "No," he seemed to say to himself, 

 "that is just a stump/' He walked out into the 

 grassy opening, dug for mice, then ambled off 

 into the woods. 



This grass plot was a wilderness meeting- 

 place for wild folks. Half a dozen wild-life 

 trails crossed it or terminated in it. There 

 were numberless air routes to and through it 

 traversed by bats, butterflies, and birds. Often 

 the wild life ceased to search for food, played 

 their primitive games with enthusiasm, and 

 sometimes they had battles or courtships. 



Often I came back to this place to note the 

 changes in the flowers or the growth of the birds 

 in the neighbourhood nests. 



Another day I sat just a big bump on a log, 

 in the other side of the woods opening. A 

 family of skunks, a coyote, and a number of 

 grouse passed near and each of these appeared to 



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