Page:Rural Hours.djvu/57

Rh Friday, 21st.&mdash;Fresh lettuce from the hot-beds.

Saturday, 22d.&mdash;The sky cloudy, with April showers, but we ventured to take a short walk. There were never more brown flowers on the elms; it is unusual to see them in such very great abundance; the trees are thickly clothed with them. The soft maple is also showing its crimson blossoms. The grass is growing beautifully; there is a perceptible difference from day to day, and it is pleasant to note how the cattle enjoy the fresh, tender herbage of the pastures after the dry fodder of the barn-yard. We followed the Green Brook through the fields into the woods; on its banks gathered some pretty pink bells of the spring beauty.

The barn swallows have made their appearance, and the flocks of the white-billed swallows seem to have increased by new arrivals.

Monday, 24th.&mdash;The young leaves on the lilacs, currents, and some early roses and honeysuckles, are springing—the first branches to look green. In the woods the young violet and strawberry leaves look fresh and tender among the withered herbage, and the older evergreens.

Tuesday, 25th.&mdash;Charming day. Went into the woods this afternoon to gather a harvest of trailing arbutus. It takes many to make a pretty bunch, for the leaves are large and often in the way, so that one is obliged to use the scissors freely when making them into a nosegay. The plant stretches its vine-like, woody branches far and wide over the hill-sides in thick patches; its large, strong, rounded leaves grow in close tufts—small and large together—and, although tough, in texture, they are often defective in rusty spots, especially the old leaves which have been lying under the snow; in summer, they are brighter and more perfect. The