OUR COUNTRY LIFE 



on the grass in front of the house. We watched them 

 from the windows of my room and they seemed astound- 

 ingly fearless. 



August 23. The last fledgling of the last brood of 

 wrens left my window box by six o'clock this morn- 

 ing. This was the second brood in the same nest this 

 year, but whether or not the same pair of wrens, quien 

 sabe? I shall miss their joyous trilling and the de- 

 tails of their housekeeping, which I have watched at 

 such close quarters through so many months. How 

 any birdlings can have the courage to leave the nest for 

 the first flight is a continual mystery to me! The 

 fluttering of wings at the sight of food is of course a 

 kind of providential exercise preparing the muscles to 

 bear later the full weight of the body. 



September 15. A brilliant day. As I leaned far 

 out of my window to drink in the delicious air of the 

 morning, I saw a curious sight. Circling high over 

 the lawn, far above the tallest trees were between 

 forty and fifty big birds which I did not know. They 

 were not gulls although their wings were wide, neither 



56 



