08/22/17 Walden Pond

Walden Pond is an important site for those if us who live here and for fans of Henry David Thoreau. He lived in a small house here all alone, but truth is his Mom lived close by in the town of Concord. Wonder if he went home on weekends for his Mom to do his laundry and have a good  home cooked meal?  Of course, I jest.

It has been a few years since I was last here and really enjoyed the walk. Will come back with the kayak some late afternoon. There is a special boat ramp for parking. Yes! As this park is very popular with locals and tourists and parking is very hard to access. It is beautiful in every season, including winter. I had taken many winter strolls along the frozen pond. It is a great place to reconnect with nature and enjoy a little peace and quiet, although at times it gets hard to find a quiet place.

Here are a few pictures of the scenes around the pond. It is a 1.6 mile loop, easy terrain, and beautiful vistas.

This is a quote that touches me. This is how I try to live my life. We never know what the future holds for us, so we need to make the most of each and every moment given to us. To me, this says it all.

Here is a drawing of Henry David Thoreau's house.

This is the site of his home. Nothing of the structure has survived except the stone from the hearth, I believe.

This is the hearth stone.

This is the site of his wood shed.

Do you think Henry took the train to Concord to see his Mom? ha ha. OK, there was no train transportation at the time of HDT's stay at Walden Pond! The train tracks are just outside the park.

The main swimming area.

A cute little chipmunk. Chippy.

Do you think someone came back for this sock?

Swimming in the "open water" is very popular.

 This is a swimmer with a float.

Perhaps this swimmer is wearing his lucky hat.

Young nature lover. She is adorable.

Venturing into the water, she is not far from her Mom's side.

Water is too cold. Time to come back and play with Momma.

08/22/17 Before and after.....

The weekend was full of chores and yardwork and housework.

Here are some photographs of the boys - on the car ride to take Fionnegan and Gunnarr to the groomer. Their hair was so long they look like little lambs.

They do not sit long like this. Eventually Fionn comes up to the co-pilot seat.

After we dropped Fionn and Gunnarr at the groomers, it was a day for just Shorty and me. We did errands and took a very long walk on the bike trail and a town forest. What a difference walking him alone. He did great on the leash and rarely pulled to get ahead of me. He actually walked just slightly in front of me on a loose leash. Guess there was no competition for lead! And, very interesting, he rarely back-kicked after marking his territory. The next day with Fionn and Gunnarr he did his absolute best to back kick a lot of debris on Fionn in particular. Hmmmm. So the day with him was good and he was a very good dog. He seemed a bit disappointed when we picked Fionn and Gunnarr up at the end of the afternoon, but he can deal. They are all brothers now.

After grooming, Fionn and Gunnarr are always starved. Here they are with their noses in their bowls, oblivious to anything around them! They look so skinny after their coats are shorn!

By early evening, they all were exhausted. Each on his own mat, but Fionnegan, who sleeps on my legs.

Hope you all are well and enjoying peace, safety, and good health.

08/20/17 The frog and the daisy

did you find the little frog? cute and a surprise!

08/18/17 summer going fast

Where has the summer gone? A question many of us ask this time of year. Soon it will be time for school to start. The weather already feels like fall, with crisp, cool mornings.

We (my boys and me) have had a great summer so far. We have walked many trails and they appear to be really enjoying themselves. I also have had a great time sailing in Boston Harbor. My little girl 

Mimì and I have had a few really good sails, the last time with the wind howling at times and there was a lot of weather helm on the tiller. It is fun and I am getting better every time. The owners of the boat next to me like to watch me bring her back up to the mooring, a skill that is not always reproducible, weather dependent!

The four of us also did a road trip to Deer Island. Everyone was good and content until we were almost there, about one hour into the trip, when Shorty started whining, then Gunnarr chimed in, then Fionnegan just barked in my ear. Boys! Quiet! We are almost there! I think that must have been their way of asking "Are we there yet?"

Here are a couple of pictures of Spectacle Island taken from Mimì as we went around her. Spectacle Island is my favorite of the harbor islands. I like to sit on top of a drumlin and watch the activity in the harbor when I am not sailing.  Also took a couple of the Boston skyline from a different vantage point than I usually do not see.

Here are my traveling companions. Shorty decided to sit in the co-pilot seat. Once he sat there, Gunnarr decided he should join him, so the two of them were in the front. Well, that is usually where Fionnegan likes to sit, so yes indeed, he squeezed in as well. I drove carefully and they all were good.

Shorty and Gunnarr look so serious watching out the front window. They watched all of the cars intently. The photographs were taken with my cell phone when the car was stopped, no worries!

Shorty looks so happy, he was having a great time!