Lauren and Gary in Winter

Yesterday we went to Walden Pond. Lauren had never been there, and I wanted to get a sense of what it must have been like to live there, as Thoreau did. It was very quiet. The ground was covered in fresh snow and the pond is still completely frozen over. In the warmer months, either leaves or pine needles shuffle around as you walk, there is a sway to the foliage and the water ripples. In the winter, nothing moves. The trees are heavy with snow and there is only a slight compacting sound as you walk. On a bright sunny day like it was yesterday, I can imagine Henry would have been feeling warm and content in his little alcove and cabin. But as the sun goes down and the light becomes so unsaturated and the temperature drops sharply off, it would be trying and intimidating, facing each night all alone.
We walked to the reserve, checked out the pond and cabin site, walked back, got pizza which tasted a lot like Steak & Shake, and rode back to the city. The other pictures in the slide show are from the other snowy days.