Summary

true flavor

fishing buddies

midnight fishing

1. Walden Pond

2. Flint's, or Sandy Pond

3. Goose Pond

4. White Pond

great crystals on the surface of the earth

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendenta ... ter09.html
Walden Study Text

Some of his best descriptive writing in this, his paean to the ponds. I wonder what he would think of Walden Pond today. He says elsewhere that he expects that villas will line the shores one day. That didn't happen, though I think in the 80s there was a development proposed next to it that was protested and defeated. But the pond is today a state reservation devoted to swimming, with a beach and concession stand on one end, a trail all around the pond, and swimming permitted everywhere. The woods have regenerated. Thoreau never shows any resentment of people coming out to use the pond, except maybe for the ice cutters, so perhaps he would think that the state park was about as good a fate for the pond as he could expect. Extensive work has been done on the steep banks to control erosion. To me, the water still looks very clear. The pond still seems to be lacking in fish, as Thoreau remarked. The biggest difference is that the pond does not feel isolated due the state park and the nearby major road.
DWill

I am so happy for that - the pond is 'protected' . . . and that people may use it.

It would be interesting to find out if they are charged for entering the 'park' which I suppose the shores have become.

I was listening to the audio for this chapter - I've listened to it twice and found parts of it to be tedious, with just a little too much information.

I will give it a third try - maybe I was allowing my mind to wander too much.

Hmmm . . . google took me right there!

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/

And there's a 'replica' of Thoreau's cabin.

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/walden/planYourVisit.htm

There is a year round parking fee of $5.00 per vehicle. Parking is only permitted in the lot off Rte. 126. When the park reaches capacity it will close. In order to avoid disappointment, call 978-369-3254, particularly on hot summer days. Annual park passes are available.

It does not say anything about an entry fee into the conservation area.

I'd love to go there - it would mean having to get a passport to cross the border and convincing Jeff to go with me. And getting somebody to stand in for us at the building here for a week to ten days maybe.

WCW,
There's only a parking fee there. You can wander around the conservation area as much as you want. Nearby Concord is actually a fairly "tony" town now, but has a lot of historical attractions, of course.

"The Ponds" is a lot of information about ponds. If you're into ponds, though, it's interesting.
DWill

A 'tony' town . . . you mean like 'yuppies'?

My impression is more like old money than yuppies; a pretty sophisticated place, upper crust.
Will

Oh, ok . . . like the families in Gatsby, right?

I was just curious about 'tony' and what it really meant.