1892
March 14
Concord, Massachusetts.
 - Walk to "Damsdale" woods - 
Mass.
Concord. - Very cold and blustering despite the
fact that the sun shone from a perfectly clear
sky. Ther. scarcely above 20[degrees] at any time. The
wind blowing a full gale.
  Late in the afternoon I took a walk to
the Damsdale. Passing across Derby's meadow
I saw two Bluebirds and two or three
Song Sparrows, all silent and looking discouraged
enough. Among the birches in the Damsdale
I got the odor of a Skunk, very strong indeed.
Working up wind for a few rods I suddenly lost
it. I then turned back and beat about over the
ground but could find nothing. I always
got the scent at about the same place and
lost it at another certain place, perhaps
20 yards from the first. There was certainly no
Skunk there although the smell was very strong,
in fact chokingly strong at one place.
  As I was walking through Derby's lane I
started a large Owl which I took to be a
Barred Owl although I could not make sure.
It flew from a low branch within 15 yards of
me and struck out over the open meadow to
the n. alternately flapping and sailing and
making slow headway against the strong wind.
Just as it started a Red Squirrel sprang up
the trunk of the tree from which it flew. The
two creatures must have been within a yard
of one another for a moment. Was the Owl
watching the Squirrel or the Squirrel the Owl?
There was a Brown Creeper among the hemlocks.
[margin]Barred(?)Owl[/margin]