As soon as the snow came, I naturally began to observe that portion of the plants that was left above the snow, not only the weeds but the withered leaves, which before had been confounded with the russet earth. Yesterday afternoon, after a misty forenoon, it began to rain by degrees, and in the course of the night more than half the snow has disappeared, revealing the ground here and there; and already the brown weeds and leaves attract me less.   —Henry David Thoreau, Journal, December 12, 1856

This came from This Date, From Henry David Thoreau’s Journal. I just love reading Thoreau’s journal as a blog, joining other blogs in my RSS Reader.