Page:Summer - from the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau.djvu/247

Rh hear singing so sweetly and variedly in the garden once or twice to-day. It sits on a bean pole or fence pick, It has a little of the martin warble and of the canary bird.

June 25, 1854. A green bittern apparently, awkwardly alighting on the trees, and uttering its hoarse zarry note, zskeow – xskeow – xskeow.

Through June the song of the birds is gradually growing fainter.

June 25, 1858. To Conantum.–Sitting on the Conantum House sill still left, I see two and perhaps three young striped squirrels, two thirds grown, within fifteen or twenty feet, one or more on the wall, another on the ground. Their tails are rather imperfect as well as their bodies. They are running about, yet rather feebly, nibbling the grass, etc., or sitting upright, looking very cunning. The broad, white line above and below the eye make it look very long as well as large, and the black and white stripe on its sides, curved as it sits, are very conspicuous and pretty. Who striped the squirrel's side? Several times I saw two approach each other, and playfully, and as it were affectionately, put their paws and noses to each other's faces. This was done very deliberately. There was no rudeness nor excessive activity in the sport. At length the old one appears, larger