WHERE THE NATURALIST LIVED 19 



the neighbors regarded as weeds, but which 

 the Naturalist guarded with jealous care. 

 Brown thrashers and catbirds sang in the 

 apple trees, and vireos nested in the blackberry 

 bushes. Screech owls and flickers reared their 

 families in the boxes which the Naturalist 

 built for them among the trees, and wrens sang 

 daily as they brought worms to feed their fam- 

 ilies which were growing up under the eaves 

 of his study. 



Rabbits played on the lawn in summer and 

 ate the bark from the shrubbery in winter. 

 Squirrels gathered the nuts from the trees be- 

 fore the door and scolded when the boys 



A last remaining bit of Iowa woodland. 



