The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-02-07

It seems early for out-of-door gar
dening, but Nature is forever prepsr-
ing for the season to come. No human
gardener perhaps would be found SOW
ing his seed when the THERMOMETERS
stood at Is below zero. and when the
snow lay three feet deep upon the
ground, yet under these conditions Ma
ture. is sowing n1yriads of seeds of the
berry bearing shrubs and creepers.
She employs as her sewers. the
grouse, the pine srosbeaks, the red
polls and many other birds which at
this season live chiefly on the pulp Of
the berries, and afterwards distribute
the undigested seeds through the
forest, thus securing a perpetuation Of
the shrubs whose berries they eat, and
providing winter food for future gener-
ations of grouse and pine grOsbeaks
and redpolls.
IF you walk across the swamps at
this season, and look down where the
Ice is thin and clear, YOU viii not see
q lifelesS brown mass Of decaying veg
citation, but q living army Of plants
looking upward hopefully a. the light
above them and waiting, perhaps fn-
patiently for a Forward March,"
from Nature. that they may advance
upon wavering winter.
swamps 10 be aware of the prepara-
tons for spring Look at the tree
tops and note that swelling buds give
the branches rosy hue; notice thal
the willows are turning q golden yell
low, and that many of the shrubs are
taking on a purple tinge. In sheltered
places the pussy willows are showing
their silky, silvery paws, and rarely we
may hn0 in some very well protector
spot an odd spring flower in bloom. In
fact, amongst all the plants of forest.
field and swamp, there is whisper,
not too loud, but quite audible, that the
spung Is on the way
Many of the animals. too. are aware
Of the approach Of winters end, and
they show it, The skunk, who, some
six weeks ago. retired to his burrow
well lined with fat and who has
snoozed through the time OF bitter
weather and deep snow, now comes
ont every night and we may hnd ms
footprints after every light snowfall
4 They are the footprints OF pioddsr
(for a skunk rarely goes out of walk
il he can help it,, and extend in q dOu-
BE line The impressions Of the feet
ere not arranged iE pairs but alternate
", right and left. and show the marks
of the prominent claws very plainly.
The woodchuci1s VIII soon be turning
over in their sleep, and after we have
had a warn, day or two we may get =
glimpse of a h0ary head pOked muir
II gIy from the moutd If some sheltered
burrow But the old fellow viii surely
go back and take another nay. for the
foraging viii not De quite to his liking
/ until March at least. The chipmunks
viii be getting active, too, for they me-
er sleep 50 sound as the wO0dchuckS
do. and it viii nos be long before we
hear the startled "Cbip" from some
venturesoma little haCkhee, d1stinS
back 10 his bl,rroW, as we pass by
through the woods. And the big black
bear. lean and hungry, vii ibe leaving
/ her den before long. 30 seek food ioT
herself ard her CUBS. and we 10 the
lesser creatura/whfch crosses her path,
for she is not q vegetarian at this sea
/ sOr
! The gray squirrels. which have been
I seen only Off end on during the harder
part of the winter. viii soon he busy
every day. FakinE ND the leaves for
nuts hidden loHy ago, or Eibbling the
tender buds OF the trees. And before
the cold weather has really gone, they