Bird watching; Birds; Natural history -- Outdoor books; New England
Perhaps my most surprising bit of good luck was the finding of the
Deptford pink. Of this, for some inscrutable reason, one plant still
remained green and showed several rosy blossoms, while all its fellows,
far and near, were long since bleached and dead. Fortune has her
favorites, even among pinks. The frail-looking, early-blooming
corydalis (we have few plants that appear less able to bear exposure)
was in excellent condition up to the very end of the month, though the
one patch then explored was destitute of flowers. These were as pretty
as could be--prettier even than in May, I thought--on the 16th, and no
doubt might have been found on the 30th, with careful search. The little
geranium known as herb-robert is a neighbor of the corydalis, and, like
it, stands the cold remarkably well. Its reddening, finely cut leaves
were fresh and flourishing, but though I often looked for its flowers, I
found only one during the entire month. The storksbill, its less known
cousin, does not grow within my limits, but came to me from Essex
County, through the kindness of a friend, being one of the six species
contributed by her, as I have before mentioned.
The hardiness of some of these late bloomers is surprising. It is now
the 2d of December, and yesterday the temperature fell about thirty
degrees below the freezing-point, yet I notice shepherd's-purse,
peppergrass, chickweed, and knawel still bearing fresh-looking flowers.
Nor are they the only plants that seem thus impervious to cold. The
prostrate young St. John's-wort shoots, for instance, all uncovered and
delicate as they are, appear not to know that winter with all its rigors
is upon them.
It was impossible not to sympathize admiringly with some of my belated
asters and golden-rods. Their perseverance was truly pathetic. They had
been hindered, but they meant to finish their appointed task,
nevertheless, in spite of short days and cold weather. I have especially
in mind a plant of _Solidago juncea_. The species is normally one of the
earliest, following hard upon _Solidago Canadensis_, but for some reason
this particular specimen did not begin to flower till after the first
heavy frosts. Indeed, when I first noticed it, the stem leaves were
already frost-bitten; yet it kept on putting forth blossoms for at least
a fortnight. Whatever may be true of the lilies of the field, this
golden-rod was certainly a toiler, and of the most persistent sort.
Early in the month the large and hardy Antiopa butterflies were still
not uncommon in the woods, and on the 3d--a delightful, summer-like
day, in which I made a pilgrimage to Walden--I observed a single
clouded-sulphur (Philodice), looking none the worse for the low
temperature of the night before, when the smaller ponds had frozen over
for the first time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account