NATURE’S YEAR _Books by John Hay_: A PRIVATE HISTORY THE RUN NATURE’S YEAR [Illustration] JOHN HAY _NATURE’S YEAR_ _The Seasons of Cape Cod_ ILLUSTRATED BY DAVID GROSE _1961 Doubleday & Company, Inc. Garden City, New York_ _Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 61-8166 Copyright © 1961 by John Hay All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America First Edition_ _For Kristi, Susan, Kitty, Rebecca, and Charles Mark--with me on this journey through the year_ Contents _July_ _11_ A Start on Cape Cod--An Entry--Other Lands within the “Narrow Land” _August_ _25_ A Wild Home Land--The Musicians--A Walk with an Oven Bird--Toward the Sea _September_ _47_ Youth on the Move--An Open Shore--Chipmunks _October_ _61_ Where Is Home?--The Field of Learning--Colors of the Season--The Last Day in October _November_ _81_ The Seed in the Season--The Clouds--The Inconstant Land--The Dead and the Living _December_ _97_ An Old Place, an Old Man--Night in the Afternoon--Two Encounters _January_ _113_ Exposure--Ice on the Ponds--Contrast and Response _February_ _127_ Secrets in the Open--The Sea in the Ground--Need--Death, Man Made _March_ _143_ Restless Days--An Extravagance--Interpretation--Response _April_ _161_ Deeper News--April Light--“Frightened Away” _May_ _173_ Declarations--Facets of Expression--Travel _June_ _187_ The Garden--Room to Spare--The Binding Rain _July_ _A Start on Cape Cod_ I drove to Cape Cod with travelers from everywhere. I came to this narrow peninsula over the blistering, insatiable roads of America with the summer crowd--in my shirt sleeves, with dark glasses to protect my sight--conscious of almost nothing but cars, and casualties ... our migrations have them too, like the birds and fish.