December thaw

December 22

Dull overcast morning, so warm that it has actually thawed in the night, and there is a wet space larger than the ice on the sidewalk. 

It draws forth crowing from cockerels, as spring does rills from glaciers.

P.M. — Warm rain and frost coming out and muddy walking.

H. D. Thoreau, Journal, December 22, 1855

So warm that it has actually thawed in the night, and it draws forth crowing from cockerels, as spring does rills from glaciers. See December 26, 1854 (“It is wonderfully warm and pleasant, and the cockerels crow just as in a spring day”); December 29, 1856 (“The cockerels crow, and we are reminded of spring.”) See also January 30, 1860 (“There are certain sounds invariably heard in warm and thawing days in winter, such as the crowing of cocks, the cawing of crows, and sometimes the gobbling of turkeys.”)