164 SPRING JOTTINGS 



month; the month of the swelling buds, the 

 springing grass, the first nests, the first plant- 

 ings, the first flowers, and, last but not least, 

 the first shad! The door of the seasons first 

 stands ajar this month, and gives us a peep be- 

 yond. The month in which to begin the world, 

 in which to begin your house, in which to begin 

 your courtship, in which to enter upon any new 

 enterprise. The bees usually get their first pol- 

 len this month and their first honey. All hi- 

 bernating creatures are out before April is past. 

 The coon, the chipmunk, the bear, the turtles, 

 the frogs, the snakes, come forth beneath April 

 skies. 



April 8. A day of great brightness and 

 clearness, — a crystalline April day that precedes 

 snow. In this sharp crisp air the flakes are 

 forming. As in a warm streaming south wind 

 one can almost smell the swelling buds, so a 

 wind from the opposite quarter at this season 

 as often suggests the crystalline snow. I go up 

 in the sugar bush (this was up among the Cats- 

 kills) and linger for an hour among the old 

 trees. The air is still and has the property of 

 being "hollow," as the farmers say; that is, it 

 is heavy, motionless, and transmits sounds well. 

 Every warble of a bluebird, or robin, or caw of 

 crow, or bark of dog, or bleat of sheep, or 

 cackle of geese, or call of boy or man, within 

 the landscape, comes distinctly to the ear. The 

 smoke from the chimney goes straight up. 



I walk through the bare fields; the shore 

 larks run or flit before me; I hear their shuf- 



