Page:Summer - from the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau.djvu/82

72 very large white pine by the edge of the swamp. It was about three feet in diameter, of dry sticks, and a young hawk, apparently as big as its mother, stood on the edge looking down at me, and only moving its head when I moved.

In its imperfect plumage, and the slow motion of its head, it reminded me strongly of a vulture, so large and gaunt. It appeared a tawny brown on its neck and breast, and dark brown or blackish on wings. The mother was light beneath, and apparently lighter still on the rump.

White pine in flower. All the female flowers on the very top of the tree, a small crimson cone upright on the ends of its peduncles, while the last year's, now three or four inches long, and green, are curved downward like scythes. Best seen looking down on the tops of lower pines from the top of a higher one. Apparently just beginning.

June 8, 1854. The Rosa nitida bud, which I plucked yesterday, has blossomed to-day, so that notwithstanding the rain, I will put it down for to-day. Erigeron strigosum slowly opening, perhaps to-morrow.

Meadow rue, with its rank, dog-like scent. Ribwort plantain is abundantly in bloom, fifteen or sixteen inches high. How long?

Herndon in his &quot;Exploration of the Amazon,&quot; says that &quot;There is wanting an industrious and