EARLY PREPARATIONS 
Timothy Pennell to work a day for you now and 
then. You have started to make your garden in 
the best way — by clearing up first.” 
Of course I told her that Little Joseph was the 
real gardener, and that he was impatient because 
not a single grass or flower seed had as yet been 
planted. 
“Make ready first,” Miss Wiseman said again, 
and went away, leaving on the table a beautiful 
book for Joseph, called “An Ambitious Boy’s Gar- 
den.” 
We have both noticed since living at the Six 
Spruces the beautiful colours of the out-of-door 
world. Here spring is like a fairy tale. First of 
all, the grey look of winter fades out of the atmos- 
phere. Then the birds began to chirp, toads croak, 
and bullfrogs are heard in swampy places. Every- 
thing appears to grow slightly pink. The great, 
bare trees are touched with it, and the grey, dead 
look vanishes from their twigs. Wherever there 
are willows, they turn yellow, and can be distinctly 
recognised among other trees. The red maples 
that grow in moist places are covered suddenly with 
tiny red blossoms. Neither Joseph nor I had ever 
noticed this before. 
Near our wood-border there are three red maples 
which we are now watching grow redder and red- 
der every day. But this red is not, as one might 
suppose from a distance, just a thick cloud that 
lights on the trees. It is caused by little blossoms 
