Walden Pond

Nothing so fair, so pure, and at the same time so large, as a lake, perchance, lies on the surface of the earth. Sky water. It needs no fence. Nations come and go without defiling it. It is a mirror which no stone can crack, whose quicksilver will never wear off, whose gilding Nature continually repairs; no storms, no dust, can dim its surface ever fresh; -- a mirror in which all impurity presented to it sinks, swept and dusted by the sun's hazy brush -- this the light dust-cloth -- which retains no breath that is breathed on it, but sends its own to float as clouds high above its surface, and be reflected in its bosom still. -- Henry David Thoreau

This weekend was our last weekend of insane travel for awhile. We were in Boston for a long weekend, for a lovely family event. And though the schedule was grueling (up at 4:30 to make a 7am flight), the time we spent was memorable.

Monday, before catching a flight home, my sister-in-law took us to Walden Pond, near Concord, MA. The area is now a Massachusetts state park. We saw the replica of the tiny cabin Thoreau built and spent two year in, thinking and writing and living simply. We also walked along the shore of the pond to the original site where it stood. Next to the site, visitors have left rocks as a memorial, and now the pile of rocks is quite large.

It was a really beautiful and peaceful spot. I didn't bring my camera (and good thing, since we were drenched in a sudden spring downpour), but I found a few shots on the internet (the top one at Freefoto, by a photographer called Ian Britton). We only encountered a few people hiking around the pond on that cloudy day, but my sister-in-law says the beach gets crowded in the summer when people come to swim.

I'm glad people can enjoy the beauty of the spot, but it is funny to think of Thoreau's place of contemplation filled with summer picnickers and beachgoers!

I have never read Thoreau's work, but I have two of his books on my shelf: Walden, and Cape Cod. I hope to get to both soon!