Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Spring is already upon us.


March 30.

Spring is already upon us. 

I see the tortoises, or rather I hear them drop from the bank into the brooks at my approach. 

The catkins of the alders have blossomed. 

The pads are springing at the bottom of the water. 

The pewee [phoebe] is heard, and the lark.

H. D. Thoreau, Journal,  March 30, 1851

The catkins of the alders have blossomed.  See March 22, 1853 ("The very earliest alder is in bloom and sheds its pollen. I detect a few catkins at a distance by their distinct yellowish color. This the first native flower"). See also  A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, the Alders.

The pewee is heard. See  March 30, 1852 ("Saw a pewee from the rail road causeway."). See aslo  March 16, 1854 ("The first phoebe near the water is heard"); March 29, 1858 ("Hear a phoebe early in the morning over the street.") and  A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, the Eastern Phoebe

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