Analy High School - Azalea Yearbook (Sebastopol, CA)

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feathers to his heart ' s content and afterwards flew away screant ing, to explore the country that lay beyond the blue hills that he Could see from the great pine tree at the head of the canyon. Days passed and the bluejay began to weary of the life that had seemed so perfect to him. What could be the matter? He mounted the highest tree in the canyon and sent a shrill question¬ ing call out over the woods. Then he listened and not even an echo came back to him. Over and over again he repeated it and finally a very faint answer came to him from out in the open. Without a moment’s hesitation he went in the direction from whence the answer came, now and then stopping to utter the call again. The answer was low but quite distinct, and then all at once he saw her. It seemed to him that she was the most beautiful bird he had ever seen, and a wave of feeling, that made his heart pound against his breast, surged over him. Once more he sent out a questioning note, but this time it was lower and not quite so proud. Instead of stopping to listen she flew away and hid in a thicket, and her ardent lover followed close behind. He tried to make his voice soft and musical like the other birds of the woods, but to his dismay, he found that even if his beauty was perfect, his voice was not. Day after day he continued his courtship, and after a great deal of persuasion, she at last con¬ sented to be a partner to the nest building in the cherry orchard. They chose the very highest limb in the largest cherry tree in the clearing above the canyon and both set to work. Mr. Bluejay first brought coarse twigs, and his dainty wife told him just how to arrange them, but he was so excited that he paid no attention to her advice and threw them carelessly in a con¬ venient crotch of a limb and hurried off to pull pieces of dry grass to finish the nest with. Mrs. Bluejay carefully lined it with the softest grass and leaves that could be found. The bluejay’s heart sang in the days that followed as he watched over his mate and the nest in the cherry tree. How proud he was of those four blue eggs! The whole orchard was filled with his screams of delight and happiness. Every morning he visited the canyon and after finishing his bath and grooming his feathers, caught the juiciest insects and carried them to his mate. Then he came back again, found his own breakfast and mounted the tall pine tree at the head of the canyon, from which he could see all over the country, including his nest in the

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MR. BLUEJAY By Harriet Maddocks. First Prize TRIM looking blue jay sat on a rail fence and gravely surveyed the surrounding country. He preened his feathers and flew to a high post on the fence, where he might be seen more clearly, and stood coquettishly with his head on one side, waiting to be admired. A few timid brown birds ventured out of the bushes to watch their grand neighbor and they looked after him, filled with awe and admiration as he disdainfully flew deep¬ er into the woods. His flight led him across green fields, swamps white with meadow foam and over long stretches of pine timber until at last he came to a deep cool canyon through which a small stream tumbled down over a high bank covered with ferns and delicate green moss, and then on down the canyon over its rocky bed. Wild ginger dipped its large shiny green leaves and curious dark red flowers into the water, and further on, where the trees were not so numerous, mats of fragrant yerba buena and yellow violets covered the ground. Above the stream the sides of the canyon rose steeply and were heavily wooded with fir and redwood. On the ground lay a thick carpet of needles, dotted with dainty pink star flowers on their wide green thrones. Over all lay the in¬ tangible fragrance of spring, and the blue jay’s heart sang within him for the mere joy of living. The world seemed perfect; the sun shone bright and warm, there was plenty of water in the canyon and best of all, there were innumerable flies and in¬ sects in the woods to feast upon, and he thought of the cherries that would be ripe later in the orchard beyond in the clearing. What more could a bird ask ? He was admired, envied and even feared by most of the birds of his size in the woods, and he was quite satisfied with his own beauty. Warm and tired from his long flight the bluejay sank gratefully into the cool shadows of the canyon, and after resting a few moments, he flew down to the water and began to bathe himself. He splashed and dipped in the water until he felt that he was clean, and then he went away to the sunniest, warmest place he could find to dry himself. He fluffed and dressed his 12

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cherry tree. From this station he stood guard, ever alert, and continually making himself heard in order to mislead any chance enemy who might be searching for his nest. From time to time he flew back to the cherry tree and sat watchfully above the nest. One fine morning the eggs hatched and, filled with import¬ ance, the blue jay hurried off to find food for his hungry babies. Busy days followed, in which he even had to neglect his own personal appearance, a thing that had been unheard of before. Almost before Mr. and Mrs. Bluejay knew it their babies were ready to learn to fly, and day by day they carefully and patient¬ ly taught them the principles and best methods. Each time the lessons were a little longer, until at last they extended as far as the fence, which separated the orchard from the woods. Then one morning there was a great noise of people and a clatter of buckets and Mr. Bluejay knew that the time for feasting on cherries had passed and that he must leave his nest and go back to the woods. Regretfully the jay family left the or¬ chard nest and now the young birds spent their time learning to bathe themselves in the cool stream in the canyon and how to fluff and dry their feathers. How proud the bluejay felt of his fine family when he saw them among the other birds of the woods! No young birds seemed quite so large or quite so hand¬ some as his own. Gradually, as his children grew older, they began to de¬ pend on him less and finally they even began to stay away in dif¬ ferent parts of the woods. As autumn approached the bluejay became restless and spent most of his time among an exclusive band of canaries, who talked about nothing but the delightful country to the southward. Almost before he knew it, he felt a great desire to see this wonderful land of the South and see if it really was more beautiful than his own home. Of course he would be laughed at by all the other jays of the woods for not staying in the North, where he belonged, but what did it mat¬ ter? He wanted to explore and to have adventures. When the grass was withered and brown, and the first frost began to tinge the leaves in the woods, the canaries started on their journey southward, and at one side of the group, a little separated from the rest, were two splashes of blue. 14