By David and Anita Dobbs, Guest Contributors Trussville Tree Commission
Commentary
Last summer, as we traveled through the Boston area on our way to Newfoundland, we visited former students. However, while in the area, we also had to make our second pilgrimage to Walden Pond to see where Henry David Thoreau went to “live deliberately.” Thoreau wrote his classic “Walden” from March 1845 to September 1847 while he lived at Walden Pond. His book looked at the seasons of the year and how the trees changed in those cycles. He was at a point in life where he wanted to go deep into the woods of Eastern White Pines around Walden Pond and live the life of a recluse. He stated, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…”
As we walked around Walden Pond, we saw the replica of his house nearby. He built the original house for the princely sum of ‘23 dollars and 12.5 cents’. The house was only 10 feet by 15 feet. The replica seemed confining but had all the essentials one would need. Thoreau
spent his time among the trees and made himself available to nature and what it had to teach. He felt like it was the one place he could go to be undistracted.
Thoreau also wrote: “The scenery of Walden is on a humble scale, and though very beautiful, does not approach to grandeur…” We visited the day of Memorial Day weekend and wondered what Thoreau would have thought about the masses of people sunbathing at Walden Pond and if those people understood why someone came there to “live deliberately.” Were the people even paying attention to the beauty of the trees surrounding them and the pond?
When walking through the forests like Thoreau did, we should all have a sense of awe and joy as we stand among these giants. Experiencing Walden Pond does give one a sense of what Thoreau felt and was looking for in the isolation of the forest. He wrote about the joy that being in the forest gave him and how it soothed his soul. However, as we look to his writings and as an early naturalist, he spoke about the changing times as the forests were disappearing. We need to do all we can to keep this from happening in these modern times.
Tree Talk: Walking Among the Forest Like Thoreau
By David and Anita Dobbs, Guest Contributors Trussville Tree Commission
Commentary
Last summer, as we traveled through the Boston area on our way to Newfoundland, we visited former students. However, while in the area, we also had to make our second pilgrimage to Walden Pond to see where Henry David Thoreau went to “live deliberately.” Thoreau wrote his classic “Walden” from March 1845 to September 1847 while he lived at Walden Pond. His book looked at the seasons of the year and how the trees changed in those cycles. He was at a point in life where he wanted to go deep into the woods of Eastern White Pines around Walden Pond and live the life of a recluse. He stated, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived…”
As we walked around Walden Pond, we saw the replica of his house nearby. He built the original house for the princely sum of ‘23 dollars and 12.5 cents’. The house was only 10 feet by 15 feet. The replica seemed confining but had all the essentials one would need. Thoreau
spent his time among the trees and made himself available to nature and what it had to teach. He felt like it was the one place he could go to be undistracted.
Thoreau also wrote: “The scenery of Walden is on a humble scale, and though very beautiful, does not approach to grandeur…” We visited the day of Memorial Day weekend and wondered what Thoreau would have thought about the masses of people sunbathing at Walden Pond and if those people understood why someone came there to “live deliberately.” Were the people even paying attention to the beauty of the trees surrounding them and the pond?
When walking through the forests like Thoreau did, we should all have a sense of awe and joy as we stand among these giants. Experiencing Walden Pond does give one a sense of what Thoreau felt and was looking for in the isolation of the forest. He wrote about the joy that being in the forest gave him and how it soothed his soul. However, as we look to his writings and as an early naturalist, he spoke about the changing times as the forests were disappearing. We need to do all we can to keep this from happening in these modern times.