Concord, Mass.
1896
April 22
[April 22, 1896]

  The morning broke cloudy with a moderate E. [East] wind
and fine rain. As the forenoon advanced the wind hauled
more into the N. [North] and the rain first increased and
then changed to snow which came thick & fast in
huge flakes (many of them an inch across) whitening
the ground and loading down the branches of the
pines. By 4 P.M. the storm ceased the wind went
into the N.W. [Northwest] and the clouds began to disperse.
At sunset the sky was perfectly clear and the
afterglow was unusually rich & deep. The evening
was nearly calm and so cool as to be almost frosty.
There was a half-moon high in the western sky.
I am thus particular in describing the weather for the
reason that the day proved one of peculiar interest
not only because of the sudden & marked changes
but also from the number & kinds of birds that
came under my observation.
  I spent the forenoon with Pat & Benson burning 
a huge pile of bush in the lower part of the
Prescott lot near the swamp. In the afternoon
we visited this fire twice & also planted a number
of small pines near the cabin & elsewhere in the
Ball's Hill piece.
  I took supper in the cabin and did not
start for the Keyes' until sometime after sunset.
During the ascent of the river I saw at
least seven or eight Muskrats by far the largest
number observed this spring. I also saw a
Spotted Sandpiper & heard a number of Snipe, two
of which were drumming steadily near the upper