Cambridge.
Ther [Thermometer] Saturday, Dec. 18, 1915 [December 18, 1915] Wea [Weather]
Stormy
  Raining steadily and at times
heavily all day long - a warm
rain that removed every last
vestige of snow and ice, fully
exposing our lawn which, to my
surprize, shows almost as green
as it was before the recent cold.
  In Garden: 2 White-throated Sparrows,
both immature with dull gray
throats flitting about in shrubbery
at rear of house one singing
feebly every now & then despite
the gloomy weather. With them
several House Sparrows. I noted
nothing else save a Chickadee which
came to the suet. 
  An utterly wasted day although
devoted to working ceaselessly on
my wretched little Preface. What
I had already written seemed hopelessly
involved so I destroyed it & then 
tried in vain to produce something better.
  We had Victrola music & reading this eve.

Cambridge.
Ther [Thermometer] Sunday, Dec. 19, 1915 [December 19, 1915] Wea [Weather]
Fine
Clear, calm, just frosty enough to
stiffen the surface of exposed muddy ground.
Our lawn appeared faded green, tinged
perhaps with dull olive, in the wan
December sunlight.
  In Garden (9-11 A.M.) A Chickadee
(not at suet), Canada Nuthatch (heard),
several House Sparrows and a rather
dull-plumaged, undersized Fox Sparrow
feeding on the ground, at edge of Jungle,
in company with a Peabody bird which
was so very plainly colored as to show
no white whatever on throat or crown.
Inasmuch as I have seen no Fox Sparrow
in the Garden since Nov. 21 the appearance
of this one there today surprised me
not a little. 
  C. [Caroline Brewster] went to early Communion service so I
spent forenoon in Museum intending to 
write letters but instead immersing myself
in further futile wrangling with my Preface.
Frank Manning dined with us & spent
most of afternoon. As he was departing
Dick Dana [Richard Henry Dana] came & stayed about an hour.