Pigskins and Dowitchers 



237 





early snow, revealed an undefiled beauty which only such 

 storms can bring. 



If the departure of some birds indicated the passing of 

 summer, the arrival of others announced the beginning of 

 fall. Hundreds of gulls crowded the baseball field on the 

 north side of the road. They had been away for several 

 months to their breeding grounds but now they were back, 

 some only temporarily before they went farther south and 

 others for the entire season. A dozen killdeers ran up and 

 down the outfield and uttered their silly cries in what was 

 apparently an attempt to excite the other birds. The gulls 

 simply remained in one spot and followed my progress by 

 turning their heads, and in the meantime gaped with wide- 

 open bills or stretched their wings as a newly awakened man 

 might stretch his arms. The colors of their bills varied from 

 flesh to yellowish-green, their mantles were of different 



