August 1, 1852 in Thoreau’s Journal

The small rough sun flower helianthus divaricatus tells of August heats….

May it not stand for the character of August?

Found a long dense spike of the Orchis psycodes— Much later this than the great orchis—the same only smaller & denser—not high colored enough

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August 1, 1860 in Thoreau’s Journal

How much of beauty–of color as well as form–on which our eyes daily rest goes unperceived by us! No one but a botanist is likely to perceive nicely the different shades of green which the open surface of the earth is clothed–not even a landscape painter if he does not know the species of sedges and grasses which paint it.