1892
Jan. 25
Concord, Massachusetts.
[margin]"Damsdale."[/margin]
Mass.
Concord. A sunny day with fleecy masses of drifting
clouds. Warm, th[?][?] 30[degrees] at sunrise.
  Spent a couple of hours in the forenoon walking
slowly over the ground visited yesterday. I wa
very weak and had to stop frequently to breathe
and rest.
  Saw a flock of five Chickadees in Pratt's larch
swamp and two birds together in the pines on
Derby's lane. Heard one Blue Jay and two Crows.
These were literally all the birds noted.
  Spent some time studying rabbit tracks. When
the rabbit is running at good speed taking long
hops the feet are placed thus: [diagram]. When
moving at a slower gait [diagram]. When taking very
short, slow hops of say only a foot at a time thus
[diagram] or [diagram]. The fore feet always seem to strike
the ground first and the hind feet [delete]to[/delete] over
or beyond them.
[margin]Rabbit track[/margin]
  Late in the afternoon I walked to the top of Ripley's
Hill. There was not a breath of wind and the air seemed
as soft and warm as on an evening in May. The sun
set in a mass of dark clouds through the rents in which
it shot forth a strong, pure light. At one time the air
seemed filled with a golden dust and the ice on the
Mill Brook meadow was fairly ablaze appearing of a
deep flame color. The river was open as far as I
could see in both directions to about its normal width
but children were everywhere skating on the flooded
meadows. As I crossed the crest of the hill two
Grouse rose from the edge of the maple swamp below &
after flying a few rods dropped among the bushes.
[margin]Sunset from
Ripley's Hill[/margin]