424 



RECREATION. 



ducks, all come to me as clearly as they 

 did on that balmy autumn day, and they 

 help to soften the austerity of these winter 

 nights. 



Again I can hear the swish of wings, 

 the rippling of water, the fare- 

 well message of the elusive 

 jacksnipe. 



Again I see the beautiful 

 wood duck, with plumage 

 rivaling that of the pea- 

 cock, floating on the shim- 

 mering water. 



Again I note the grace- 

 ful curves of the hooded 

 merganser, seeking 

 the juicy mollusk, 

 algae and belated 

 . adpoles. 



A buffle- 

 head, strayed 

 from the run- 



pipe their distorted and discordant notes 

 from among the rushes. The ripeness and 

 satiety of nature cast a spell on all its 

 creatures and they revel in the sun and in 



BACK IN THE THICKET THE GROSBEAK WHISTLES 

 ITS WEIRD NOTES. 



ning water of the river, takes a peep at his 

 congeners of the marsh, paddles in among 

 them a few minutes ; then rises and 



the music. The 

 chorus of frogs, 

 the babbling and 

 and screaming of 

 birds of many kinds, make na- 

 ture seem jubilant. 



Austere nature, with a sense 

 of the duty of ripened maturity 

 and repletion, awaits the gathering 

 of its treasures into its storehouse, 

 without a protest. The birds have 

 a resigned and solemn air and a lazy 

 note. They have lived out the day of 

 their usefulness here in the North. Parents 

 have reared their young to maturity and 

 strength, and all are, so to speak, folding 

 their tents for their Southern journey. 



Those of this mighty throng which es- 

 caped the fusillade of firearms en route 



r -^ 



7* 



xg 



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~J*- 



V 



THE SWISH OF WINGS. 



returns to the big river where he evidently 

 feels more at home. 



Back in the thicket the grosbeak whistles 

 its weird notes. The thirsty quail seeks 

 the water and drinks daintily. A flock of 

 cro\v bla'ckbirds and a few purple grackles 



South are again in their winter quarters 

 and will return to us next spring, cooing 

 and mating, seeking suitable places for the 

 building of their tiny houses and for the 

 rearing of other broods of young. Their 

 songs will be far more vigorous and cheer' 



