1889
Dec. 16
The Notch, Mt. Graylock, Mass.
  Cloudless, the air frosty & bracing in early morning and at evening
peculiarly soft and balmy at midday. Snow thawing all day in
the sun but perfectly "dry" in the shade. Absolutely calm, not so
much as a breath of wind from sunrise to sunset.
Under the conditions just described it may be readily
inferred that this day was a rare one for the season. The
snow-laden trees, undisturbed by wind and but little affected
by the sun, were quite as perfect as yesterday and much more
effective in the strong, clean light with the cloudless blue sky
overhead. I do not think I ever saw anything nearly as beautiful
of the kind before. Words simply fail to give any idea of it.
Faxon and I started out at 9.30 a.m. (sunrise in the Notch)
taking the cart path up the valley but soon separating, he
keeping on to the "Bellows Pipe" and beyond, I turning to
the right up into the pasture spruces. these, in the clean sunlight,
were even more beautiful than yesterday - Snow trees - every
twig, every needle even, so perfectly encrusted that but little green
showed through. It made my eyes ache to look at them yet
I paused and looked and looked again, every few yards.
I had gone only a few rods when a Grouse suddenly began
snickering within a few yards. I crept cautiously into the cluster
of spruces where the sound issued but could neither see nor
flush it. There was a mere dust of snow under the trees - not
over an inch in fact and this was everywhere marked thickly
with the bird's tracks showing that it had rambled about a good deal
within its limited domain.  A Partridge steps short for its size, from
four to five inches only. The footprints are in a line; that is
one in front of another or nearly in front there being
some slight straddling. The lateral toes are put down nearly
at right angles with the middle tow. The track resembled
a Quail's as well as a Pigeon's. There was no indication