MARCH 



77 



are fascinating at present, 

 with their new cones form- 

 ing; they look such soft, 

 velvety things, these embryo 

 bottle brushes, but are really 

 quite hard and knobby to the 

 touch. The white-cheeked 

 honey-eaters love this patch 

 of apple and banksia ; dozens 

 of them were darting about, 

 playing chasings through the 

 bushes and calling to each 

 others as they flew, " You 

 saucy girl, you saucy girl." 

 Spiders seem to love this 

 patch, too, and every few 

 yards we had to step aside 

 to avoid breaking down 

 a beautiful dew-bespangled 

 web. The mist was clearing 

 now, and the sunshine falling 

 through the trees touched the 

 spider-webs into a mesh of 

 gleaming pearls, in the midst 

 of which the spider lurked in 

 his den, a curled-up leaf. 



MORKPORKS 



