Thoreau writes in his journal:
4 A.M.—To Nawshawtuct.
I go to the river in a fog through which I cannot see more than a dozen rods,—three or four times as deep as the houses. As I row down the stream, the dark, dim outlines of the trees on the banks appear . . .
4 P.M.—To Conantum.
Equisetum limosum out some days. Look for it at Myosotis Brook, bottom of Wheildon’s field. Sidesaddle-flower—purple petals (?) now begin to hang down. Arethusas are abundant in what I may call Arethusa Meadow. They are the more striping for growing in such green localities, -in meadows where their brilliant purple, more or less red, contrasts with the green grass.