The year is but a succession of days,
and I see that I could assign some office to each day
which, summed up, would be the history of the year.
Henry Thoreau, August 24, 1852
A rainbow in the west this morning. June 30, 1853
Nature must be viewed humanly to be viewed at all; that is, her scenes must be associated with humane affections, such as are associated with one's native place, for instance. June 30, 1852
Is not June the month when most of our fresh water fish are spawned? June 30, 1856
Is not this period more than any distinguished for flowers, when roses, swamp-pinks, morning-glories, arethusas, pogonias, orchises, blue flags, epilobiums, mountain laurel, and white lilies are all in blossom at once? June 30, 1852
The blue flag (Iris versicolor) enlivens the meadow. June 30, 1851
Is not this period more than any distinguished for flowers, when roses, swamp-pinks, morning-glories, arethusas, pogonias, orchises, blue flags, epilobiums, mountain laurel, and white lilies are all in blossom at once? June 30, 1852
The blue flag (Iris versicolor) enlivens the meadow. June 30, 1851
Haying has commenced. June 30,1851
Haying has commenced. June 30, 1852
It is a world of glossy leaves and grassy fields and meads. June 30, 1860
The foliage of deciduous trees is now so nearly as dark as evergreens that I am not struck by the contrast. June 30, 1860
The shadows under the edge of woods are less noticed now because the woods themselves are darker. June 30, 1860
Standing on the side of Fair Haven Hill the verdure generally appears at its height, the air clear, and the water sparkling after the rain of yesterday. June 30, 1860
Seen through this clear, sparkling, breezy air, the fields, woods, and meadows are very brilliant and fair. June 30, 1860
Borrowed Roberts’s boat, shaped like a pumpkin seed, for we wished to paddle on Great Quitticus. June 30, 1856
Two men spoke of loon’s eggs on a rocky isle in Little Quitticus. June 30, 1856
Just beyond this was Reed’s Island, which was formerly cultivated, the cattle being swum across, or taken over in a scow. June 30, 1856
At one end of Haskell’s Island was apparently a piece of primitive wood,—beech, hemlock, etc. June 30, 1856
On the right hand in the old orchard near the Quitticus Ponds, heard and at last saw my tweezer-bird, which is extremely restless, flitting from bough to bough and apple tree to apple tree. June 30, 1856
Sylvia Americana, parti-colored warbler, with golden-green reflections on the back, two white bars on wings, all beneath white, large orange mark on breast, bordered broadly with lemon yellow, and yellow throat. June 30, 1856
The tweezer-birds were lively in the hemlocks. June 30, 1856
The lark sings a note which belongs to a New England summer evening. June 30,1851
The cuckoo is faintly heard from a neighboring grove. June 30,1851
The tree-primrose, which was so abundant in one field last Saturday, is now all gone. June 30,1851
I saw the Lobelia Dortmarma in bloom. June 30, 1856
Succory on the bank under my window, probably from flowers I have thrown out within a year or two. June 30, 1853
By the roadside, Long Plain, North Fairhaven, observed a tupelo seven feet high with a rounded top, shaped like an umbrella, eight feet diameter, spreading over the wall, June 30, 1856
The bass tree is budded. June 30, 1852
Young oak shoots have grown from one and a half to three or four feet, but now in some cases appear to be checked and a large bud to have formed. June 30, 1854
Poke, a day or two. June 30, 1854
Small crypta Elatine, apparently some days at least, at Callitriche Pool. June 30, 1854
Rubus triflorus berries, some time, — the earliest fruit of a rubus.The berries are very scarce, light red, semitransparent, showing the seed, — a few (six to ten) large shining grains and rather acid. June 30, 1854
Lobelia spicata, to-morrow. June 30, 1854
Jersey tea. June 30, 1854
Cat-mint (Nepeta cataria) in bloom. June 30, 1852
I see the farmers in distant fields cocking their hay now at six o'clock. June 30,1851
The day has been so oppressively warm that some workmen have lain by at noon, and the haymakers are mowing now in the early twilight. June 30,1851
The pads blown up by [the wind] already show crimson. See June 29, 1852 ("The wind exposes the red under sides of the white lily pads. This is one of the aspects of the river now."); August 24,1854 ("The bright crimson-red under sides of the great white lily pads, turned up by the wind in broad fields on the sides of the stream, are a great ornament to the stream. It is not till August, methinks, that they are turned up conspicuously.”)
It is starlight about half an hour after sunset to-night; i. e. the first stars appear. . . .Finally the last traces of day disappear, about 9.30 o'clock, and the night fairly sets in. See August 8, 1851 ("Starlight! that would be a good way to mark the hour, if we were precise.”);May 8, 1852 (“Starlight marks conveniently a stage in the evening, i. e. when the first star can be seen. ”); June 28,1852 ("Now it is starlight; perhaps that dark cloud in the west has concealed the evening star before . . .Starlight!. . .. That is an epoch, when the last traces of daylight have disappeared and the night (nox) has fairly set in.”); July 12, 1852 (“Now, a quarter after nine, as I walk along the river-bank, long after starlight, and perhaps an hour or more after sunset, I see some of those high-pillared clouds of the day, in the southwest, still reflecting a downy light from the regions of day, they are so high.”); July 20, 1852("Then the cloudlets in the west turn rapidly dark, the shadow of night advances in the east, and the first stars become visible. It is starlight. You see the first star in the southwest, and know not how much earlier you might have seen it had you looked. . . .the last traces of daylight disappear, about 10 o'clock.")
Haying has commenced. June 30, 1852
Saw a haymaker with his suspenders crossed before as well as behind. A valuable hint, which I think I shall improve upon, June 30, 1856
Hot weather. June 30, 1853
2 P. M. -- Thermometer north side of house, 95°; in river where one foot deep, one rod from shore, 82°. June 30, 1855
Hot weather. June 30, 1853
2 P. M. -- Thermometer north side of house, 95°; in river where one foot deep, one rod from shore, 82°. June 30, 1855
A Southwest breeze springs up every afternoon at this season, comparatively cool and refreshing from the sea. June 30, 1856
Yesterday afternoon it was remarkably cool, with wind, it being easterly, and I anticipated a sea-turn. June 30, 1857
The coolness continues, and this morning the sky is full of clouds, but they look to me like dog-day clouds and not rain-threatening. June 30, 1857
It does not rain. June 30, 1857
Cooler, with a northerly wind. June 30, 1859
The pads blown up by it already show crimson, it is so strong, but this not a fall phenomenon yet. June 30, 1859
Yesterday afternoon it was remarkably cool, with wind, it being easterly, and I anticipated a sea-turn. June 30, 1857
The coolness continues, and this morning the sky is full of clouds, but they look to me like dog-day clouds and not rain-threatening. June 30, 1857
It does not rain. June 30, 1857
Cooler, with a northerly wind. June 30, 1859
The pads blown up by it already show crimson, it is so strong, but this not a fall phenomenon yet. June 30, 1859
It is a world of glossy leaves and grassy fields and meads. June 30, 1860
The foliage of deciduous trees is now so nearly as dark as evergreens that I am not struck by the contrast. June 30, 1860
The shadows under the edge of woods are less noticed now because the woods themselves are darker. June 30, 1860
Standing on the side of Fair Haven Hill the verdure generally appears at its height, the air clear, and the water sparkling after the rain of yesterday. June 30, 1860
Seen through this clear, sparkling, breezy air, the fields, woods, and meadows are very brilliant and fair. June 30, 1860
Borrowed Roberts’s boat, shaped like a pumpkin seed, for we wished to paddle on Great Quitticus. June 30, 1856
Two men spoke of loon’s eggs on a rocky isle in Little Quitticus. June 30, 1856
Just beyond this was Reed’s Island, which was formerly cultivated, the cattle being swum across, or taken over in a scow. June 30, 1856
At one end of Haskell’s Island was apparently a piece of primitive wood,—beech, hemlock, etc. June 30, 1856
On the right hand in the old orchard near the Quitticus Ponds, heard and at last saw my tweezer-bird, which is extremely restless, flitting from bough to bough and apple tree to apple tree. June 30, 1856
Sylvia Americana, parti-colored warbler, with golden-green reflections on the back, two white bars on wings, all beneath white, large orange mark on breast, bordered broadly with lemon yellow, and yellow throat. June 30, 1856
The tweezer-birds were lively in the hemlocks. June 30, 1856
The lark sings a note which belongs to a New England summer evening. June 30,1851
The cuckoo is faintly heard from a neighboring grove. June 30,1851
The tree-primrose, which was so abundant in one field last Saturday, is now all gone. June 30,1851
I saw the Lobelia Dortmarma in bloom. June 30, 1856
Succory on the bank under my window, probably from flowers I have thrown out within a year or two. June 30, 1853
By the roadside, Long Plain, North Fairhaven, observed a tupelo seven feet high with a rounded top, shaped like an umbrella, eight feet diameter, spreading over the wall, June 30, 1856
The bass tree is budded. June 30, 1852
Young oak shoots have grown from one and a half to three or four feet, but now in some cases appear to be checked and a large bud to have formed. June 30, 1854
Poke, a day or two. June 30, 1854
Small crypta Elatine, apparently some days at least, at Callitriche Pool. June 30, 1854
Rubus triflorus berries, some time, — the earliest fruit of a rubus.The berries are very scarce, light red, semitransparent, showing the seed, — a few (six to ten) large shining grains and rather acid. June 30, 1854
Lobelia spicata, to-morrow. June 30, 1854
Jersey tea. June 30, 1854
Cat-mint (Nepeta cataria) in bloom. June 30, 1852
I see the farmers in distant fields cocking their hay now at six o'clock. June 30,1851
The day has been so oppressively warm that some workmen have lain by at noon, and the haymakers are mowing now in the early twilight. June 30,1851
After hoeing in a dusty garden all this warm afternoon, - so warm that the baker says he never knew the like and expects to find his horses dead in the stable when he gets home, - it is very grateful to wend one's way at evening to some pure and cool stream and bathe therein. June 30, 1851
Though so late, I hear the summer hum of a bee in the grass, as I am on my way to the river behind Hubbard's. June 30,1851
Moon nearly full; rose a little before sunset. June 30, 1852
The moon appears full. At first a mere white cloud. June 30, 1852
As soon as the sun sets, begins to grow brassy or obscure golden in the gross atmosphere. June 30, 1852
Now that it is beginning to be dark as I am crossing a pasture, I hear a happy, shrill cricket-like little lay from a sparrow either in the grass or else on that distant tree. June 30,1851
Though so late, I hear the summer hum of a bee in the grass, as I am on my way to the river behind Hubbard's. June 30,1851
Moon nearly full; rose a little before sunset. June 30, 1852
The moon appears full. At first a mere white cloud. June 30, 1852
As soon as the sun sets, begins to grow brassy or obscure golden in the gross atmosphere. June 30, 1852
Now that it is beginning to be dark as I am crossing a pasture, I hear a happy, shrill cricket-like little lay from a sparrow either in the grass or else on that distant tree. June 30,1851
The cattle on Bear Garden Hill, seen through the twilight, look monstrously large. June 30,1851
It is starlight about half an hour after sunset to-night; i. e. the first stars appear. June 30, 1852
The moon is now brighter, but not so yellowish. June 30, 1852
Ten or fifteen minutes after, the fireflies are observed, at first about the willows on the Causeway, where the evening is further advanced. June 30, 1852
The creak of the crickets is more universal and loud, and becomes a distinct sound. June 30, 1852
The oily surface of the river in which the moon is reflected looks most attractive at this hour. June 30, 1852
I see the bright curves made by the water-bugs in the moonlight, and a muskrat crossing the river, now at 9 o'clock. June 30, 1852
Finally the last traces of day disappear, about 9.30 o'clock, and the night fairly sets in. June 30, 1852
The color of the moon is more silvery than golden, or silvery with a slight admixture of golden, a sort of burnished cloud. June 30, 1852
It is starlight about half an hour after sunset to-night; i. e. the first stars appear. June 30, 1852
The moon is now brighter, but not so yellowish. June 30, 1852
Ten or fifteen minutes after, the fireflies are observed, at first about the willows on the Causeway, where the evening is further advanced. June 30, 1852
The creak of the crickets is more universal and loud, and becomes a distinct sound. June 30, 1852
The oily surface of the river in which the moon is reflected looks most attractive at this hour. June 30, 1852
I see the bright curves made by the water-bugs in the moonlight, and a muskrat crossing the river, now at 9 o'clock. June 30, 1852
Finally the last traces of day disappear, about 9.30 o'clock, and the night fairly sets in. June 30, 1852
The color of the moon is more silvery than golden, or silvery with a slight admixture of golden, a sort of burnished cloud. June 30, 1852
June 30, 2018
*****
A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau:
*****
A rainbow in the west this morning. See June 25, 1852 (“Just as the sun rises this morning, under clouds, I see a rainbow in the west horizon, the lower parts quite bright.”)
Thermometer north side of house, 95°. See June 21, 1856 (”Very hot day, as was yesterday, -— 98° at 2 P. M., 99° at 3, and 128° in sun”); June 25, 1858 (“Hotter than yesterday and, like it, muggy or close. So hazy can see no mountains. In many spots in the road and by edge of rye-fields the reflected heat is almost suffocating. 93° at 1 P. M. ”); June 29, 1860 ("At 6 P.M. 91°, the hottest yet.").
I anticipated a sea-turn. See April 28, 1856("On our return the wind changed to easterly, and I felt the cool, fresh sea-breeze."); April 30, 1856 ("At one o’clock there was the usual fresh easterly wind and sea-turn . . .and a fresh cool wind from the sea produces a mist in the air.")
The earliest fruit of a rubus. See June 7, 1857 ("Rubus triflorus still in bloom"); June 25, 1854 ("A raspberry on sand by railroad, ripe."); July 2, 1851("Some of the raspberries are ripe, the most innocent and simple of fruits”);July 6, 1857 (“Rubus triflorus well ripe.”)
Tweezer-bird. See June 22, 1856 ("The woods still resound with the note of my tweezer-bird, or Sylvia Americana.").
The lark sings a note which belongs to a New England summer evening. See July 16, 1851 ("The lark sings in the meadow; the very essence of the afternoon is in his strain. This is a New England sound")
Moon nearly full; rose a little before sunset. . . . At first a mere white cloud. As soon as the sun sets, begins to grow brassy. See July 11, 1851 ("[The moon] who was a pale cloud before, begins to emit a silvery light, acquiring at last a tinge of golden as the darkness deepens."); April 30, 1852 ("Then when I turned, I saw in the east, just over the woods, the modest, pale, cloud-like moon, two thirds full, looking spirit-like on these daylight scenes. Such a sight excites me. The earth is worthy to inhabit. ") See also May 3, 1852 ("A great brassy moon going down in the west."); June 1, 1852 ("The moon about full.. . .The moving clouds are the drama of the moonlight nights"); July 20, 1852 (" The crescent moon, meanwhile, grows more silvery, and, as it sinks in the west, more yellowish, ")
I see the bright curves made by the water-bugs in the moonlight . . . now at 9 o'clock. See June 2, 1860 (“Water-bugs dimple the surface now quite across the river, in the moonlight, for it is a full moon.”); August 8, 1851 (“As I recross the string-pieces of the bridge, I see the water-bugs swimming briskly in the moonlight . . .”)
June 30, 2019
If you make the least correctobservation of nature this year,you will have occasion to repeat itwith illustrations the next,and the season and life itself is prolonged.
A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, June 30A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau"A book, each page written in its own season,out-of-doors, in its own locality."~edited, assembled and rewritten by zphx © 2009-2023
https://tinyurl.com/HDT30June
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