Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1908-10-09
AM October Nutting partv.

4 was such beautiful .ht0bcr morning.
clear, but not bit cold and red squir-
rel was chattering so merrily in the edge
of the woods nearby.
/ Some empty salt bags were soon pro-
vided with cords to go over the should
| erS, and everything seemed ready.
| Where to 90! That was the question
| Frank knew Just where the nuts were.
but Frank had sprained knee and had
! been unable to walk for the past week
! However, the knee had improved so rap.
| Idly since the nutting party was spoken
of that nothing would do but to lead
out Charles. the old horse, and lift Frank
carefully To his back All was ready
| now and off we gayly started. the three
grown ups and we five young folks, some
| of those on foot ahead some behind. and
the horse in between
| The first halting place was butter
nut grove on a rocky slope at the edge
OF woods. The first animal announced
at the grove was a red squirrel, OF rath-
| er, he was the first to announce himself,
| for he protested loudly at our coming
| to gather nuts and frisked his tail very
saucily from his seat on a low branch
| We found the ground under the trees
| plentifully strewn with fine, large nuts.
| in their bronzy, sticky coats. What fun
| it was to gather and pile them up! In
couple of hours we had made a heap
of nuts the size and shape of musk
rats house. II was noon now. and we
went down to the brook ut the bottom
of the hill to wash up" for lunch. All
| but Frank, should say. for Frank and
/ the horse were now missed for the first
| time. Lunch was no sooner spread out
on the grass, however, than Frank and
/ old Charles came noisily up out of the
woods. Frank was all excitement, and
the wonderful tales he told of what he
had seen and heard together with the
strawberry jam and crabapplc tarts,
made the time dy Frank had ridden
within yard of chipmunk without in
the least disturbing him, and red SOUR
rel ventured SO near that as he passed
on branch over the horses head the
leaves bent down and brushed his ears,
causing him to wag them. Song spar,
rows and robins paid no more attention
to him than they would have given Ia
| the horse il he had been alone.
Probably all thought him a new kind
! of horse. Lunch was soon over Then
the next thing was to topple over the pile
of nuts, spread them out and cover them
with leaves to be gathered up next day
| into the box of wagon. While thus
/ hiding the nuts Cousin Arthur called
us all TO watch red squirrel who was
doing almost the same thing with nuts
! which he brought. one at a time, from
| the trees to low brush pile. lie would
| bring a nut, dig out little hollow in
the ground under the brush, put the nut
/ IN. and pat leaves over it, then seurry
off for another He was making his
winter store In one little hollow !
found nearly a peck of nuts which Il
squirrel had heaped together and GOV.
cred with leaves. We found many
empty shells, and noticed that each had
been gnawed into in almost exactly the
same way, always in two places on OPP
posite sides just where the two meats"
would be most exposed.
| Frank led the way again, and we en-.
| tered the woods, following COW path,
| to reach hazel thicket on the other
side. We found no nuts until the very
edge of the woods was reached Here
a chipmunk was chirping loudly, and
| May and Henry who went to inyesti-
| gate, found two beech trees loaded with
nuts. Instead OF squirrels it was chip
hunks who seemed to regard these nuts
as their own property. No less than
three of the little fellows were sitting
! in sight on the stones under the trees.
| Every fiat stone was covered with shells
Of beechnuts. We now called to mind
that some wood choppers once found in
| the woods near our house about two
quarts OF these nuts all sheled and
skinned and stored up in a hollow tree.
| We all sat for a long time watching the
pretty creatures store the nuts away in
! their holes in the ground. They would
always have their cheeks full Of nuts
when they entered a hole, and always
came out with cheeks empty.
! We had great fun climbing about in
the big trees and filling up our bags 1t
was a race to see whose bag would be
| full first. We boys were near the top
of one OF the trees when May suddenly
! announced, to our surprise and shame,
| that her bag was full of nuts We had
| laughed at her efforts TO climb up higher
/ in the tree and then disdainfullv left her
on one Of the lower branches She had
! been picking steadily and saying nothing
/ for some time, and this was her triumph.
We looked woefully ut our half empty
bags, and began to wish we had done
less rocking and climbing, and had picked
more nuts.
Soon we were left alone in the tree.
But at last our bags were full and we
followed May, who had gone with Frank
and the older cousins after hazel nuts.
The hazel nuts were not so plentiful rs
the others; chipmunks had been here
before MS. II was under the hazel bushes
beside stone wall that Frank found
a chipmunk's hole and called us to see
the chipmunk carry leaves into it for
his nest. He took many cheekfuls o.
dry leaves into the hole during the few
minutes that We watched him Sparrows
Of several kinds, with wax wings and
blue JAYS, were numerous along the old
fence where the hazel bushes grew. the
Jays rompiEg. hunting for nuts, and max
ing a great racket a. though this were
their Fourth Of July Blue jays are a.
fond Of nuts and nutting parties as boy,
and girls are. ! saw oLe jaw do a thins
which puzzled me for a while He wa.