SPRING JOTTINGS 167 



enough to take them all in. Maple buds just 

 bursting, apple-trees full of infantile leaves. 

 How the poplars and willows stand out! A 

 moist, warm, brooding haze over all the earth. 

 All day my little rustic sparrow sings and trills 

 divinely. The most prominent bird music in 

 April is from the sparrows. 



The yellow-birds (goldfinches) are just get- 

 ting on their yellow coats. I saw some yester- 

 day that had a smutty, unwashed look, because 

 of the new yellow shining through the old drab- 

 colored webs of the feathers. These birds do 

 not shed their feathers in the spring, as careless 

 observers are apt to think they do, but merely 

 shed the outer webs of their feathers and quills, 

 which peel off like a glove from the hand. 



All the groves and woods lightly touched 

 with new foliage. Looks like May; violets 

 and dandelions in bloom. Sparrow's nest with 

 two eggs. Maples hanging out their delicate 

 fringe-like bloom. First swallows may be 

 looked for any day after April 20. 



This period may be called the vernal equi- 

 poise, and corresponds to the October calm 

 called the Indian summer. 



April 2, 1890. The second of the April 

 days, clear as a bell. The eye of the heavens 

 Avide open at last. A sparrow day; how they 

 sang! And the robins, too, before I was up in 

 the morning. Now and then I could hear the 

 rat- tat- tat of the downy at his drum. How 

 many times I paused at my work tc drink in the 

 beauty of the day. 



