The Monticellonian., 1915-09-16
STOP WRITER'S PEN
Many Gentle Distractions in
 SImmer's Garden.
Some Re,s Why It Is Difficult to Work )ut of Doors-Observation of the Birds One of the
 Greatest.

In su inner I write every morning in simmer house at the extreme rear of my garden-a house which is' in real ty, a COW shed converted by Virginil creepers, side trellises. great openin s sawed in all four sides ana sna plaster cast of a section or the Farthenon frieze, painted With white enamel paint to resist the ram.
 But find it difficult to work out or doors even in the summer. There are so m ny distractions. l am disturbed incef sanity by the tiny clamors or It, tie things, making their sweet. insidi- ous lppeal for attention.
 Here is, for instance-or, rather, theIe has been-a chick-a-dee's nest on ny summer house. in a box tackled thee to attract the wrens. All my life have desired to have chick-a- des's nest under observation. and this yer my wish was granted. Every msrning while Mrs. Chick-a-dee was sitting on her eggs I saluted her when I anne down to work.
 Then. after I had settled down. and h Id just got paragraph well under vay, MT. Chick-a-dee would appear , ith a worm or bug in his mouth to feed her. and I would have to lay own my pen to watch him, First he would perch on twig twenty or thir- y feet away and. without dropping the food from his mouth, say "ehieka- dee" two or three times softly-a pret- ty. wiry. tinkling sound. He never on any occasion added the remaining "dee-dee-dees" of the familiar call After repeating his announcement he would then fly to strip of the trells beside the bird box, and sitting there once more give his wiry little "ehiek a-dee" Then he would suddenly give a hop to the perch below the hole in the box transfer the food to the wait ing bill of his wife. who would have her head out ready, and depart.
 Another disturber of my labers is a bluebird whose family inhabits box in my eighbor's yard. but who prefers to hunt in mine. l can never resist watching the flash of his blue wings over the flower beds Still an other disturber is a Baltimore oriole. He feeds in the orchard swallowing down a bug or caterpillar and then fairly dancing on a spray while he emits musical grace after neat
 Sometimes yellow butterfly in- vades my privacy. fiuttering across my vision to attract attention. and then winging il circles over tn potato field or the flower beds. watch It in it's flight
 When I look back at my paper an cnt is crawling over it. The ant makes me think of my young apple trees set out this spring, for the ants crawl up young apple trees and evil dently devour the green aphis on the leaves. Have my new trees any aphis? I must get up and investigate. Yes, they have I must get the hose and spray them of.
 Back at last at my table 1 am free to resume my work. and another para graph gets completed Then l hear A meadow lark or perhaps a wood thrush and. arrested by the sound, pause to listen, and my ear catches clearly the various noises of the sum- mer day, which so often we hear with out hearing, and would only be aware of if they stopped altogether To sink back and just lsten-to feel the touch of the breeze on your cheek. to watch the great, lazy, beautiful white the garden-that is better than work ing!-Walter Prichard Eaton in the Philadelphia Evening Ledger.