Concord.
Ther [Thermometer] Saturday, Oct. 19, 1918 [October 19, 1918] Wea [Weather]
30 [degrees], 62 [degrees] Fine
Brilliantly clear & almost perfectly 
windless. Hard black frost last night.
Our salvias & dahlias preserved from
it by spraying some along lane wall
& warming others in front of shed by
an open wood fire within.
Two Yellow Butterflies & lots of
Grasshoppers out thro midday hours.
  Dooryard birds. About a dozen Robins,
40 Juncos & one or two White-throats [White-throated Sparrow].
Downy W. [Downy Woodpecker] in elms. Goldfinch heard.
2 Red-wings [Red-winged Blackbird] flying high S. [south] & 5
Bluebirds high N. [north] at 8 A.M. 50+
Bronzed Grackles flying high N.E. [northeast] at
5 P.M. 75+ Crows circling low about
Holden Hill. 2 or 3 Jays & a cock
Pheasant in Ritchie corn field.
Grass Finch gave full song twice
at 2 P.M. in field just across road
from Ritchie place.
  Spent whole day at Ritchie place
picking yellow corn with Burbank, Zeph,
George & Gilbert [Robert A. Gilbert]. Worked as hard as any of
them. We got 34 bushels. Mrs. Melvin
called at 4.30 but I was too tired to see her.  

Concord.
Ther [Thermometer] Sunday, Oct. 20, 1918 [October 20, 1918] Wea [Weather]
30 [degrees], 54 [degrees] Subs. to Liberty Bonds. Fair
Pale sunlight filtering through thin veil
of fleecy clouds. They became denser
as day wore on & brought light rain
soon after dark. Violent S.W. [Southwest] wind
blowing after 9 A.M. Hard frost last
night. We saved dahlias & salvias
again by use of hose & open fire but
everything else perished. Even the ripe 
strawberries were ruined.
  Not many birds save Juncos
Robins & Crows. A flock of last
named species contained 25 or more.
2 tame & sluggish Black-polls [Blackpoll Warbler]
gleaning Aphidae industriously from
golden foliage of gray birches in
Cedar Park. 4 Yellow-rumps [Yellow-rumped Warbler]
similarly employed in Birch Field.
  Spent most of day in house writing
cheques for bills. Walked to Ritchie place
in early forenoon & to Birch Field in late P.M.
Also picked half a bushel of seed corn.
  Yesterday I subscribed (through Estabrook & Co)
for $5600 Liberty Bonds. (credited to Cambridge)
& last week to $400, in Concord.