To the dull mind all nature is leaden. To the illumined mind the whole world burns and sparkles with light.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
All that is ripest and fairest in the wilderness is preserved and transmitted to us in the strain of the wood thrush. This is the only bird whose note affects me like music, affects the flow and tenor of my thought, my fancy and imagination. It lifts and exhilarates me. It is inspiring. It is a medicative draught to my soul.