Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-03-02
This and That
By Charles E. TraceUeu.
DECATUR STREET.

Dear Sir:
I'm spite of the snow of the last few
days have been noticing some signs of
spring.
THE buds of the swamp NAPLES have
been opening for several weeks. The
elm buds are swelling. The red maple
is getting ready to put on her coral
earrings.
THE grass on the lawn is showing
new green growth.
The cardinal has been singing more
theoretically these early mornings. The
song sparrow started singing on our
street about February 10. And saw
grackle for the first time this year on
February 7. He had just had his bath
and was shaking himself and preening
his feathers.
He was spreading his long tail feath-
ers like an open fan.
"a friend of mine in Takoma Park
saw robin in the snow last week.
"A surer sign of the approach of
spring is that the days are getting longer
and the sun is travelling farther north
in his journey.
1T is such comforting thought that
there are some basic things that are I'M
changing in this our world.
I'VE can always count on them
ut is joy to know that while the
earth remaineth, seed time and harvest,
cold and hot, summer and winter and
day and night shall not cease
Winter with its cold and it's storm
has always given way to spring with it's
warmth and sunny days. So we can
look forward with certainty to the COM
ing Of spring and to the beauty of re-
newed life in nature.
Very sincerely yours, E. D. B."
\ X X y
ARLINGTON, Va.
Dear Sir:
Your column today giving us the
word picture of your cardinal trimmed
lilac bush recalls to my mind a time in
Texas when I had the joy of spotting a
bush alive with cardinals and bluebirds
together.
when living in California a number
OF years ago We had a Towering tree
in our yard which attracted numbers of
hummingbirds. We could always tell
when they were there by hearing their
wee cricketlike sound
"One day reached the patio in time
to hear that sound seemingly multiplied
thousandfold, and glanced up just in
time to see flock of them numbering
at least hundred Zoom across the yard
I've never found any one who has
seen flock of hummingbirds, but
know did.
THE snow here brought to. our feed
ing ground and window sill tray our
best bird day yet this winter-well over
so birds, about 10 varieties, eating all
day long.
"A pair of pygmy nuthatches, If we've
identified them correctly, are daily un-
afraid visitors at our sill tray, carrying
away nut meats and sunflower seeds,
which they wedge into the bark of a
nearby tree trunk and busily devour.
Today we saw our first white
throated sparrow.
Saturdays snow made a perfect
background for our male cardinals as
they plummeted down from the trees
to our feeding ground, looking like Drop
ping balls of flame.
Your column is worth the price of
The Star any day, and we thank you.
Sincerely. D. H. S."
The pygmy nathatch does not come
here. Our correspondents birds prob
ably are white-breasted nuthatches or
maybe the red-breasted, which is small
er than the white-breasted.
We can match the experience with
the hummingbirds. Several years ago
we saw 80 hummingbirds in a mimosa
tree just a few blocks from our home in
Chevy Chase. Md. This was a sight
for the gods. Perched and flying among
the pink fringe, they made beautiful
picture, and all the while they kept up
the squeaking and humming noise pecu-
liar to them. In the average yard one
will not see more than pair at time,
or usually not more than three or four
pairs. 1t is an odd fact that one is
more likely to see the ruby throated
hummingbird in Georgetown gardens
than anywhere else in or around WASH
ington.