P.M.—I see under the east side of the house amid the evergreens, where they were sheltered from the cold northwest wind, quite a parcel of sparrows . . .

  P.M.—Up Assabet. Very strong northwest wind.

  When I get opposite the end of the willow-row, the sun comes out and they are very handsome, like a rossette, pale-tawnv or fawn-colored at base and a rich yellow or orange yellow in the upper three or four feet. This is, methinks, the brightest object in the landscape these days . . .