A Bewick's wren is singing lustily from the holly tree, accompanied occasionally by a song sparrow, who is standing at the top of a forsythia bush which will be bright with yellow blossoms in only a few weeks. Even an Anna's hummingbird is singing its wispy song from the top of the pear tree, not so musical as the sparrow or the wren, but a hummingbird's song, small and quick and buzzy, well suited to the singer. The backyard chorus brings to mind a snippet of a poem by Oliver Herford:
I heard a bird sing
In the night of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.
-----
Oliver Herford
(1863-1935)
We definitely are nearer to spring than we were in September. The signs are all around us. In some nearby gardens the tips of daffodils and crocuses are beginning to appear, just barely breaking the surface of the soil. The ends of branches on our pear and apple trees are showing just the slightest bit of swelling, pregnant with the promise of pink and white blossoms they will bring forth in March and April. And the red flowering currant, which only a week or two ago finally dropped the last golden leaf of 2002, is swollen with the crimson blossoms of 2003.
The birds, especially, show their appreciation for this rare glimmer of December sunshine. A ruby-crowned kinglet has been flitting under the eaves and window ledges of our house, hunting for tiny spiders hiding in their webs which glisten in the sun. A pair of scrub jays has been chasing each other in and around the laurels, probably the same pair which has nested here for the last several years. Robins have taken a break from their feast of holly berries to come for long baths in the bird bath which hangs off my deck, the water beading up on their backs and shining in the sun like tiny diamonds. Even the squirrels have ceased their endless raids of the sunflower feeders to play in the sunshine, chasing each other up and down tree trunks and flying through the branches in a joyous game of catch-me-if-you-can.
guides怎么读：英 [ɡaɪdz] 美 [ɡaɪdz]
1、The commission's revised "Green Guides" warn marketers against using labels that make broad claims, like "eco-friendly." 该委员会修订的“绿色指南”警告商家不能使用意义广泛的标签，比如“生态友好”。
2、I saw bird watchers who spotted a bird, immediately looked it up in field guides, and said, a "ruby-crowned kinglet" and checked it off ． 我看见，观鸟者们在发现了一只鸟后,立即查阅了野外指南,说："红冠戴菊鸟"，然后在它上面做了标记。
3、We hired a local guide to get us across the mountains. 我们雇了一名当地人做向导带领我们翻山越岭。
4、The guide conducted us around the ruins of the ancient city. 导游引导我们游览了古城遗迹。
5、The health and safety officer will guide you through the safety procedures. 卫生安全官员将向你把安全规程解释一遍。
6、Use these figures as an approximate guide in your calculations. 在你的计算中把这些数字作为近似参考数值。
7、Let's have a look at the TV guide and see what's on. 咱们看看电视节目单上有什么节目。
8、The purpose of the book is to provide a complete guide to the university. 本书旨在全面介绍这所大学。
red-crowned cranes，丹顶鹤（red-crowned crane的复数）；丹顶鹤是鹤类中的一种，因头顶有红肉冠而得名。它是东亚地区所特有的鸟种，因体态优雅、颜色分明，在这一地区的文化中具有吉祥、忠贞、长寿的寓意。
