To-day I hear the croak of frogs

April 8. 

To-day I hear the croak of frogs in small pond-holes in the woods, and see dimples on the surface, which I suppose that they make, for when I approach they are silent and the dimples are no longer seen. They are very shy. 

I notice the alder, the A. serrulata, in blossom, its reddish-brown catkins now lengthened and loose.

I see a light, of fishermen, I suppose, spearing to night on the river, though half the ground is covered with snow.


H. D. Thoreau, Journal, April 8, 1852


To-day I hear the croak of frogs in small pond-holes in the woods. See April 8, 1855  ("Hear at a distance in the sprout-lands the croaks of frogs from some shallow pool.")

I notice the alder, the A. serrulata, in blossom. See April 8, 1855 ( I"Though I have looked widely, I have not found the alder out before. “); April 8, 1859 ("The Alnus serrulata is evidently in its prime considerably later than the incana, for those of the former which I notice to-day have scarcely begun, while the latter chance to be done. The fertile flowers are an interesting bright crimson in the sun. “). See also A Book of the Seasons, by Henry Thoreau, the Alders