Omaha daily bee., 1892-11-18

Observations NJ . Lower OF the Beautiful
~ Nature

obsrr,arous ofn Lovor OF tno Beautlul
~ NIturr.
It is not every gear tn8t lne tGermum-
"ter drops 20 thirty utev"ees hgluy zero
IN southern Iowa. as tsd4I -E,s mura.Gg.
surs "a wr. ter iu the Country Gent .-man.
This is the fourth winter since fhul ia.
-t~ne was reuched ON nv back porch
About ,he ID adle If She month heavy
ia.| lf -uuw came. anu for week. the
THERMOMETER marRu8 colder ev-gv t8v,
The grtlrle yls In ruNruE.u white aN-
Dun-o. except 10 the Immediate vicinity
Of the L"Ove--Ac' tered hum,-teaGs
"Ah. remarked rGe matrHu. the birds
are all gone NOW. "L wiI. rU -.rtu lua
see. replied. 80 -u0al8ev,ur nv tlr-
ret rlAe. being careful t0 vrau tD va.,
/ sul.Ied forth.
\ few steps brought nc 20 the grove.
hit Ol Drimeva. waud-. u which sut-
'er not even the dead brush tO bee 4 ti--
,urned. There Isn't any more ihan
three acres II 1t. yet l prefer i. 20 any
three acres ruut saw u Central parit.
II - nature without ner Iiru. e uu--Iusiv.
Wild. ANA always full VI glad surprises.
Tho landscape man .s autsuuc here: the
trees tower aioft. lifting I'D wealth Of
branches. knit together by Al'iprswect
Hnd the Wild grape 10 their tUumust
branches.
The Ditterswcet : rampau, grower,
ana on ur'-tiuus IT, vivid req berries
are "a frequent demand 20 dern~ut. he
home made christmas tree in lieu af tho
trad. tiUnu. holly. I had is .ir0 have "a
hickory sapLu- lestguueu SltR bitter
sweet, and with wv - Ol cedar led TO
the lahed Branches. rs any holly tree
that [ ever saw IN he woods Of relIcs-
see ana Mississippi. The girls and
their ''fei ows' take 4 hearty interest
in making the trees IS nearly like the
lClGlvOrk OF nature as possible. pha
result IS frequently very Interesting and
pleasing
Scarcely had reached ne skirt OF the
grove when heard the alarm notes Of 4
tOUk Of uualls. I halted. and peering
round. discovered them nuudled in !
tnluket of plum sprouts ana horseweeds.
l turned aside and left them in peace.
made up NY mind some years ago that,
so far as I could. thev should roam uu-
moested over any land OF mine Their
cherry whistle of Sob White : sum
mer condensed. Besides, winter Is enemy
enough for them. They are nur a hardy
fowl a sudden ia.l Of temperature is
death 10 many i quail The skunk, the
mink ana the weasel run riot among
should survive.
kvGrvw where under the plum ana crab
appIe trees the snow vas packed Dv the
feet Of many rabbits. who feast lnon
the fallen ftuit. which they nose out
from under me snow, They are very
fond. tou.1t the young shoots OF "a dwarf
upland willow, vh-rh grows pien aIfu.lr
On the DOOR points Of Ule breaks over
looking me creeks. They are also eX-
ceeUin-ly fond Of the hark Of last year ;
growth VI sumac. -lru.inE. ana thereby
killing. many 4 spTout This Is heir
on : useful office: N Utle. respects they
are Nuisance.
In the midst Of the trees an atnos-
Dhere entirely different from that OF the
prairie prevailed. The air was temper
ate. \ small hOcll Of horned larks
we're busy on the snow above the fa!low
blowing. These birds are much scarcer
than when the prairie was first settled.
I know of no reason for this, as 1 never
knew Of anybody killing one. Their ex
termination viii be loss. They are
essentially bird of the road. finding
much daily food dropped by the travel.
Their song is faint yet curiously faith
ful COPY Of the neadow-lark: hence their
common name.
Standing by the side Of a bur-oak. I
was presently saluted by a chatterlng
bIueiuy. With his typical =qua.ling he
collected n huf-dOZen or more comDa-
tr-0ts who. after pretty thoroughly m
vestiEayIug me. Jew OF. doubtless re-
IarGIug NE as harmless. \ dOwnv
vOOupsClle" tapped away On a uead
branch above me-. making The bark liz
At any rate. some nutnaJChes were ex-
Di0ring the snaEoarR ciiOrie= near bv
rr.- .a1 n 50
the lower branches Of the grove. Crows
we're nuisily crossing the prairie 70 the
woods along a ueIGubOriug creek. out
stopped At q hedge vlGre couple Of
large hawks were sitting mOJ.Jnless.
watching for a breakfast Of var, Gus dem
liens of the hedge The crows evi-
IDENTIFY did not ike the looks of these
kites for they Iet them alone and
continued their fight. I heard the
Cheerful! wlrbie of pinefinches gOin ,
toward the house, and was visited by 4
lock Of snow birds. brown and slate
cOlorad. feeding in a patch OF careless
Weed ut the edge Of the grove. Z fine
specimen Of the great northern shrike
sat mUtiOniess on the top of a young elm
IN draw OF the prairie. The name bv
which this bird ID generally known Is
mousehuwk. He IS not often seen in
summer, but in winter IS a familiar set
ting in the landscape.
walked toward the house. 4 rabbit
started uD before me. ran a little WAY.
ana lhen sat down. 7 drew bead on
him and carried him home. As [ laid
him On the porch the mqtron said.
We'll. you did iud some little life 70
When [ gave her Il synopsis Of my
stroll, indeed. said she. I'll match
you against the world in finding birds =
Take Time To Deliberate,