this moment domestic affairs went on as 

 usual and the family jar was forgotten, 

 so far as an outsider could observe. 



Eggs, baby birds, busy days, fall and 

 southern journey, ended this year with 

 my pleasant summer neighbor. 

 III. 



Many times during the following win- 

 ter they were the subject of my thoughts. 

 I wondered where the3^were and whether 

 they would return. Yes, early one morn- 

 ing of the next spring I was awakened 

 ' by his beating a reveille in the same old 

 place on the roof-board of the cabin. 

 With little delay he selected a place for 

 the new home. Then followed a fort- 

 night of hard work and vigilance when 

 the excavation was completed and only 

 awaited the coming of his better half, 

 who was as prompt in her arrival. 



There are families to raise ; there are 

 thousands of flies, bugs and beetles to 

 catch, for which they are never given 

 credit, but let them take a berry and it is 

 ''Johnnie, get your gun." Early one 

 bright morning in July there was noise 

 and bustle about the woodpecker home. 

 It was not difficult to guess what was 

 going to take place. The parents were 

 close by the nest on the side of the tree. 

 The little birds had crowded out of the 

 entrance, eager for their first flight, 

 which, like the first tottering steps of a 

 baby, is attended with much chatter and 

 nonsense that is not understood. 



The mother set an example by flying 

 to a tree some fifty feet distant. The lit- 

 tle birds followed with a labored effort 

 and, striking the tree with a thud near 

 the ground, managed to stick fast. Now 

 began their arboreal life of tree climb- 

 ing at which they were awkward at first 

 and had many falls. The young birds 

 were a soft smoky gray. There was no 

 sign as yet of the cardinal cap and white 

 bodice with black chevrons, which would 

 make them so conspicuous during the 

 next year. 



In their daily visits to the yard each 

 parent chaperoned one of the baby birds, 

 teaching it all the tricks in the wood- 

 pecker trade, as they conducted it from 

 tree to tree where they searched amid 

 the bark and worm holes for morsels of 

 food that had been secreted there. 



One day late in October they failed to 



return ; this ended another year and 

 brought another separation. 



1 IV. 



As promptly as ever the following 

 spring fpund my summer tourists in 

 their old haunts, each year getting a little 

 closer if possible to the cabin with their 

 nest. 



Household affairs went along smooth- 

 ly till one day the old man was keeping 

 house while the madam had gone out 

 for lunch. At the expiration of about 

 twenty minutes he came out of the nest. 

 As he flew away he gave a loud call 

 that on former occasions had invariabl}i- 

 brought his mate to take charge of the 

 nest, but to this call she did not answer. 

 She never returned. He waited a few 

 moments, calling for her, then returned 

 to the nest. Ten minutes later he came 

 out again, repeating the call several times 

 as he flew from tree to house and back 

 again to the nest, about which he showed 

 much concern. Five minutes more and 

 for the third time he left the nest, fly- 

 ing down in the orchard where the fe- 

 male often went for food. Soon return- 

 ing he went direct to the nest, seeming 

 to understand that some misfortune had 

 overtaken his mate. 



Like Mark Tapley, when the occasion 

 demanded he came out strong, for with 

 scarcely an intermission he stuck td the 

 nest for the next three days. Then he 

 carried out the broken shells and began 

 bringing food for two mouths that were 

 always agape. With a desire to assist 

 him I daily placed bits of food on a cer- 

 tain stump in the vard. He soon came to 

 understand the meaning of my visits and 

 to regard these tit-bits as belonging to 

 himself. He would fly to the house top 

 and watch me put out the food. As soon 

 as I turned away he would drop off the 

 roof, spread his wings, slide down on 

 the air with a long graceful sweep, bring- 

 ing up on the edge of the stump. 



Nodding and chattering, he hitched 

 around the stump, tasting eadh bit of 

 food, eating what he liked, but rarely 

 giving any of this food to the babies. 

 No matter whether he ate it or not, no 

 other bird was permitted to trespass. 



The undivided care of the family left 

 little time for personal attention. He 

 looked shabbv and forlorn bv the time 



19 



