Dear Gardiner Folks,

Thanks you for all your nice letters, etc., which have been enjoyed far more than it might appear. Perhaps one has been too restless in recent weeks to be much of a correspondent. With leave aproaching and one’s not knowing where one is going or for what after that, it’s not always easy to be philosophical and to keep from becoming restless. Though the remaining number of days before one’s vacation have seemed to pass slowly—with a speed somewhere between creeping and crawling—time has in some respects melted away, this being particularly true of leisure time, and yet we haven’t been overworked.

The summer was really unpleasantly hot down here, though Sundays at the beach were rather pleasant. October, however, while not actually cool, has proved to be very pleasant. There are no more hot nights even if some of the days are overly warm. Many local birds have left the woods, and many more have migrated through, but some “winter” birds have stopped and more will. One migration of redstarts (the woods were almost literally full of them) was the most remarkable of perhaps any warbler I’ve seen. One trouble with the Florida peninsula is that it misses all the birds that migrate up and down the Mississippi Valley, so many of one’s northern avian friends one never sees even though they do winter in Central or South America. I’ve been rather disappointed at what I’ve seen of an ornithological nature from the air. Too many times one is too high and going too fast, but I’ve recognized vultures, eagles, pelicans, gulls and a few other birds.

Well, in a little over a week I should be at home after eleven months of absence. It won’t be for long (two weeks), but it will mean much. Perhaps I’ll get a chance to visit Gardiner.

Love to All

Toots

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