WINTER 



snow crystals which went floating 

 downward to settle on the mother bed 

 below. 



About this time the blue jays awoke 

 the woods with their discordant pro- 

 tests, but found little life in the snow- 

 bound forest to attract their attention. 

 A pair of nuthatches came gliding 

 down the rough bark of the maples, as 

 if nothing had happened to disturb 

 their rather lonely Winter vigil. They 

 had taken the first snow as a matter 

 of course and were busily on the hunt 

 for a morning meal. A flock of con- 

 fiding chickadees passed through, shak- 

 ing the snow from the limbs as they 

 examined each branch and twig, all the 

 while conversing cheerfully with their 

 musical notes, " Chick-a-dee-dee-dee." 



The first storm found all the wild life 

 of the Beech Woods prepared for all 

 emergencies of cold and snow. Down 

 beneath its protecting layer, and buried 

 in the soft, black loam, the sleeping 

 roots and latent buds of myriad flowers 

 lay resting for the great revival in the 

 Spring. The slim buds of the beech 

 were sharp and long and shone like 

 89 



