1892
Oct. 30
Concord, Massachusetts.
Mass.
Concord. Clear with high N. W. wind.
  Off at 9 a.m. with Mr. Buttrick driving to
the Walden woods where we visited in succession
the big pines over the pic-nic grounds, Pine Hill,
Goose Pond, and "Fairyland".
  Measured several of the pines, the largest having
a girth of 9 feet 5 inches a foot or so above the ground.
  On the top of Pine Hill found a bee tree which
some one has lately plundered. It was an old white
pine with a hollow twenty feet or more above the
ground. Quantities of comb lay scattered about on
the ground and a number of yellow jacket hornets
were clustered on it. There were also some dead
honey bees sticking to the comb and a few live ones
were going in & out the hole in the pine.
  At the foot of the hill we stopped to look at
a fine, tall pine and were standing nearly under
it talking when a Great Horned Owl flew
from one of its lower branches (a dead branch)
and flapped swiftly & silently off through the
trees. I have rarely got so near one of these Owls
in the daytime. No pellets or other signs under the tree.
[margin]Great Horned Owl[/margin]
  The woods on Bristen's Hill over Fairyland are
the finest by far that I have ever seen in this
country. Evidently the land has never been cleared
& the woods doubtless show what the original
forest of this region was like. There are very
many tall oaks among the pines, a few hemlocks,
some large canoe birches (one 42 inches in girth),
a few yellow birches & at least one black