8 A. M.—By boat to V. palmata Swamp for white birch sap . . .

  As I walk in the woods where the dry leaves are just laid bare, I see the bright-red berries of the Solomon’s-seal still here and there above the leaves, affording food, no doubt, for some creatures . . .

  When I return to my boat, I see the snow-fleas like powder, in patches on the surface of the smooth water, amid the twigs and leaves… There is no wind, and the water was perfectly smooth,—a Sabbath stillness till 11 A.M. . . .

  P.M.—Up railroad . . .

  The thermometer at 5 P.M. is 66º+ . . .