Rural Retreat times. [volume] (Rural Retreat, Va.) 1892-1918, 1912-03-22
twenty-four hours.

e-J happenings of the past
twenty-four hours.
Across the snow-covered field at the
edge of the woods you trail the ia
mlllar tracks of the little cottontail
rabbit, BY their side, and occasional
ly joining and obliterating them, are
the accusing footprints of that mis-
chleyous pointer pup, who should
have been tied up in the barn About
small clump of swaying weedstalks
are the four barred prints of such
nardy birds as juncos, red-polls, and
the larger blue-jays and crows. A pow
derry mass of loosened snow comes
sitting down from the topmost bough
of an evergreen at the forest edge. as
a large snowy owl flies noiselessly
back into the silent woods. Driven
from his summer hunting grounds at
the far north. by the icy hand of win
ter, he will levy toll from squirrels.
grouse and rabbits, before taking his
departure for more congeniaI climes
at the coming of spring. His hunting
is methodical and constant. With set,
upon his victim, like some great
white specter of the forest. Little
round pellets of hair, feathers and
bones found on the snow beneath his
favorite perch, indicate the fate of his
unfortunate prey Fierce, rapacious
and Unsuitable. he flies over the fields.
and through the forest, ever ready to
fall like meteor on some unsuspect-
ing bird or mammal Unlike most of
his kind, this bold assassin from the
arctic does not confine his hunting ex-
cursions to the night time alone, but
flies abroad during certain hours of
the day as well; thereby proving even
more destructive and dangerous than
his ally In crime, the northern Cos
hawk.
Over the whitened aisles of the for
est wind the beautiful. delicately
traced trails of the little wood mice
Nibbling daintily at dried grass and
larger weed-stalks, they wander
about during the coolest weather
When the thermometer stands far be-
low zero and starvation often threat
ems them, these little mice, when In
the vicinity of farms, make their way
to the granaries and barns, in search
of food When wandering about the
woods, they often come upon the
shed antler of deer or moose; they
at once start to nibble and gnaw at
the hard substance, until they finally
entirely destroy it. In many instances
their winding trails disappear beneath
the snow, to reappear some little dis
lance further on, emerging from tiny
tunnel which they have dug in search
of hidden seeds.
At the base of some forest tree is
recorded the jump of the gray SPUR
rel In long, undulating bounds, he
makes his way over the snow. Often
times he pokes his nose beneath the
surface and pushes and roots in search
of acorns or nuts, which he knows are
somewhere beneath that cold white
covering Some blue-jays scream, and,
unwilling to betray his storehouse, he
runs quickly to nearby trunk and as
cends to the first limbs, where he sits
vociferously scolding the noisy intru
ders,
Beneath the snowladen branches of
the balsams, the round cat-like i'm
prints of the lynx show forth. Bold
and prominent, they form an easily
followed trail through the woods. The
half buried top of fallen tree,
cavity left by the roots of an upturned
stump, a thick-grown mass of rhodo
demons, have all been carefully ex-
amined by this soft-footed prowler in
his relentless search for food. Slight
ly further, on, his trail joins that of the
varying hare. or white rabbit and
his tread becomes measured and care
full, as he creeps forward on the hot
scent of his intended victim. About
the edge of a dismal swamp the dis
turbed snow shows where, coming on
the unwary hare, he has made his leap
and secured his prize. The line by
the side of his trail marks the drag
of his prey on the snow as he has car
ried It to the top of an open knoll
Here are displayed all the evidences
of his savage feast Having satisfied
his hunger he has circled about and
several times walked to the point of
his commanding elevation. One can
almost hear his weird, piercing
scream, uttered in bold defiance from
his prominence. Evidently satisfied
that nothing is to be gained by tarry-
ing longer in the vicinity, his restless
feet have been again turned toward
the denser forest in which direction
his trail disappears
BY the side of gently-murmuring,
ice-incrusted brook, appears the sinu-
Gus hunting trail of the blood-thirsty
mink. The little footprints in sets of
two and two, register in the snow