Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-03-14
signs OF Spring as Shown Thus
Early.
BIRDS, TREES AND SHRUBS
A Snow Storm May Announce a
Change of Season.
THE FLOWERS ARE COMING

With the very first days of March come
hints and promises of the springtime.
Sharp winds blow and cold waves cover
the earth for a few days at a time but
the sunshine at MONDAY is warm, and the
breezes at twilight are soft. In the woods
and along country roads the laurel is green
and budded, the MOSES are fresh and
green, and the trees look expectant, though
their buds are tightly closed. He who lives
In the city may observe many signs of the
coming season. The forsytha-"yellow jes-
samine'-is all In bloom. The little yellow
blossoms along the leafiess stems have a
nard time when the weather is capricious,
Out they manage to live through all the
changes and trials. The trees in the parks
nave changed-a little swelling CT each bud
AN amount entirely too small to be noticed
IN separate tip, but amounting to a
vague change in the whole treetop The
soft NAPLES are full of big red buds-this
maple is always in a hurry, and Is fire.
9uentIy nipped by the cold. The beech's
long slender. arrow-pointed tips are packed
with material for the daintiest of leaves
when the sun shall warm them into life,
put the beech will come out il little late
with Its spring garments-lt always does.
II never hurries nor rushes pell-mell as the
maple does 1t is every inch an aristocrat-
ana LOOKS It. The trunk and branches
symmetrical and unbroken, the bark is
smooth and fine, and a delicate fragrance
Is always about the leaves.
The Birds Are Active.
In the White Lot, On sunny mornings one
may hear the notes of Il bird song amuIg
the sparfows' chirps. and We hope that our
1riends, the robins, are on their way hcme
from the south. South Of the White House
and the War. State and Navy Departments
is the spot most favored by the birds; that
En- Is; IN me northwest section of the city.
.I Is not FAR away; there is no noise of
traffic to disturb them, and the birds can
nest there quite happily.
Inc sparrows. by biding here the ..:nter
through, have learned some human ways
They have five o'clock teas or something
very like them. At twilight, wherever a
weil-grown ivy affords loussrooa, the
sparrowS congreSate, ny in and out all
chirp at once and make hustle and noise
that might easily be mistaken for an alter
noon reception.
tonwood back of the White House. are
nome again for the season. and are very
BUSY They fly back and forth from some
pace beyond the monument, perhaps
across the river. They scold each other
and fuss with the gardener, the pedestrians
ana the bicycle girls, and seem to be ex-
ceedingly busy about most important af-
We hear from Georgia that the hyacinths
are In bloom In the gardens, and from the
north that the SHOWS are breaking up a lit
We aIong the fences and roadsides. while
we, midway, are expecting the first BIOS
SONS in the woods.
The Trees In Winter.
1t has been said that the winter IA the
best of times to study the character Of
trees The beech is an aristocrat always
Inc cottonwe cd, without any fiuttering sill
very leaves, looks snuffy, weak-minded.
broken-branched and insincere. The little
foreigner, the singko, looks very we'll It's
extraordinarily long horizontal branches
have weathered our winter without a break
proving their sturdiness and fitness, The
maiden hair fern tree it is sometimes
called because its leaves are like the ferns
They are as dainty as the branches are
sturdy, and are joy to the eyes from
their first delicate green to the late days in
the fall. when they turn a clear, pale, al
most transparent yellow-a yellow like pale
amber or tortoise shell. The soft maple
Just hangs on the edge Of respectability
Its branches break and the bark grows
rough and scaly, but it belongs to a good
autumn
The hornbean has a peculiar beauty on a
rainy day. When the branches are wet
they have peculiarly soft black color
intensely black. Then the branches and
hne twigs, with the tiny round buds at
the end of each look like fine black Span
ish lace against the blue sky. When the
with blue skies the color effect is exquisite
The sycamore, with its dappled bark,
looks sunny-at least those leading up to
the steps of the Capitol on the west front
are so. Sometimes the white part of the
tree looks too bony to be pretty Those
at the Capitol must be a special variety.
they are so much prettier than the syca-
more usually is.
Preparing to Blossom.
The daffodils. that in Shakespeares coun-
try Come before the swallow dares and
take the winds of March with beauty" are
ca hro hnra
up their long slender leaves in cozy, sunny
gardens, and have intention of blossom
ing for many days. The crocus is our
brave little flower, its purple and white and
yellow tips are pushing out of the sod al
ready, not at all daunted by March winds.
Not dandelion is out. During the
warm days in January they took it into
their frisky little yellow heads to blossom
then: and out they came on every bit of
parking and lawn. Probably because of
their January lark they have to stay in
late now. Crocuses had begun to appear
before the sudden snow storm. The ar
butus is hiding its pink buds under the
leaves on the hillsfdes. while the creek is
singing all sorts of pretty melodies to tease
them forth. 1t will come early, bringing
Its rosy petals and it's pale petals and the
dainty floating fragrance.
The dainty spring is surely coming at
tended by bevieS of dainty duets shy
anemcnes, purple violets, jolly dandelions
and rosy arbutis The ferns will uncurl
lows will send forth funny little pussies to
amuse her and the cottonwoods will launch
host OF their bits of cotton and will
tease the mortals with it. tickling their
eyes, riding on velvet collars, flying IN
The windows, and scudding up and down
the pathways in crowds. as rollicking as a
lot of school boys out for a recess All
these joys are coming. and with them the
music of brooks and little rivers Of nesting
birds and busy insects-a sweet harmony
for him who will but listen. Nature has
carefully arranged every bud and leaf and
blossom to make the world beautiful, and
the buds and birds and rivers and brooks
and humming insects all know their parts
In the harmony.
However, one may say Of our March as
Riley says of the western May:
] jes'
Dominate its PROMISES
Little hints of sunshine and
Green about the timber-land-
A few blossoms and few
Chip birds and a sprout or two
Drap asleep and it turns in
Fore daylight and SHOWS agin'