Walden Pond

Walden Pond Reservation is located about 10 miles North-West of Boston, Massachusetts. The reservation is 335 acres (136 ha) in size, and the main feature is Walden Pond, a 64.5-acre (26.1 ha) body of water. A short way north of the pond the site of Thoreau's cabin is marked by a series of granite posts. Portions of the pond's shore are beach, while other parts descend steeply to the water from trails that ring the pond.

The writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau lived on the northern shore of the pond for two years starting in the summer of 1845. His account of the experience was recorded in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, and made the pond famous. The land at that end was owned by Thoreau's friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson, who let Thoreau use it for his experiment. Thoreau is credited with encouraging a respect for nature at an environmentally degraded site.

Boston's "Ice King," Frederic Tudor, harvested ice yearly on Walden Pond for export to the Caribbean, Europe, and India.

In his journal, Thoreau philosophized upon the wintry sight of Tudor's ice harvesters: "The sweltering inhabitants of Charleston and New Orleans, of Madras and Bombay and Calcutta, drink at my well ... The pure Walden water is mingled with the sacred water of the Ganges."

Source: Wikipedia

The Colors of Early Fall

 

Heading out on the road to Walden Pond - even the trees along road are showing off their fall colors

 

 

We reach the entrance of the reservation where the pond is.

 

A dirt road leads down the hillside to a small parking space near the edge of the water.

 

 

Hiking trails lead off the parking are - disguised under a blanket of leaves.

 

A small beach provides a launching spot for canoes and kayaks - there is a lone kayaker on the water.

 

It is early in the fall - only the trees along the water's edge seem to have turned so far.

 

 

Besides the lone kayaker, a fisherman in waders is trying his luck.

 

 

The Native Americans of New England recognized the special uses to which the bark of the birch tree could be put. They made wide use of the outer bark of white (or paper) birch for canoe construction and wigwam coverings. Long before the arrival of Europeans and even before the development of ceramic vessels 3000 years ago, bark containers were used to collect, store, cook and consume food or other products.

Birch bark was also used to make hunting and fishing gear; musical instruments, decorative fans, and even children's sleds and other toys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving the park, we are treated to a lone-standing tree of flame.

 

On the road back home.

 

 

 

As we reach civilization, we pass the Law Offices of Judge Edward Mellen, from ca 1826

 

 

Even in suburban backyards the trees are spectacular

 

 

 

The parking lot of the hotel where we are staying even has its own contribution to the fall colors