14 TOE AU DU BO NPS BRU sie caterers 
for a mile or more, dotted here and there with clumps of scrubby 
willows. 
The old white oak which stands on the top of the hill, with its 
gnarled and naked branches silhouetted against the pale blue of the 
December sky, seems not to have changed at all in the past two decades. 
I leave the open pasture and follow the cattle path along the 
edge of the marsh to where the heavily wooded hills come down to 
meet the marsh land. Here at the foot of a steep slope is an old 
spring, its wooden curbing now rotting away. In summer this was 
my favorite place to watch the birds that came to drink and bathe 
in the shallow overflow pools. Today, as I stood watching the clouds 
reflected in the deep, clear water, a red-tailed hawk drifted into the 
reflection. This is, indeed, a strange sight to see a hawk soaring 
upside down so far below. Looking up I watched the hawk pass out 
of sight over the woods on motionless wings. 
Like most woods of this type there are a few dead tree stubs 
along its border with woodpecker holes in them. As a boy I used 
to tap on these snags to see what creatures were using them. In this 
way I learned the home address of the flicker, the red-headed and 
downy woodpeckers, and the nuthatch. 
I recall on one occasion that a furry head appeared at the entrance 
in answer to my knock and two large dark brown eyes of a flying 
“| had found the roosting hole of the hairy woodpecker." 
squirrel peered down at me. When I tapped again it ran to the top 
of the snag. Another sharp tap and the squirrel sailed over my head 
