Day #19- March 31, 2017

 Freezing rain almost kept me from making my trip here today. Things started to clear up a little and I actually had a real desire to go for a walk in the cold rain, something I have really grown to love.  There was a busload of students here for a field trip so I wasn't expecting a peaceful experience, but I started out before them and really never even heard them.  I hope they were able to appreciate the day and the place too.

Day #18 March 30, 2017

A beautiful sunny day was a welcome sight.  The reflections of the sunlight and the shadows  changed constantly as the ripples came in to the shoreline. It was like watching a light show.  I was joined today by my friend Stacey who shares my love of the outdoors and all its healing benefits.

Day #17- March 29, 2017

The thing that struck me today was the color of the water in Thoreau's Cove. It reminded me of Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park with its rainbow colors.  The deep blue center gave way to greens, yellows and then oranges and reds the closer you got to the edge. You could see the color change as you followed the dramatic drop- off of the bottom and the reflections of the red pine needles on the forest floor provided the reddish tones.

Day #16- March 28, 2017

Today began the second half of my radiation treatments and to change things up a bit we walked counterclockwise around Walden Pond. Ha! It was another cold raw day but a couple of fishermen were out there with poles staked in the sand, hopeful of catching something.  I found a hospital bracelet on a shrub near the water today.  A 15 year old girl had come to Walden to find what she needed after her hospital visit. I wish her the best. There was some pretty yellow pollen art on the water in one of the coves. Another sign of spring.

Day #15- March 25, 2017

Light rain and 40 degrees isn't exactly the kind of weather that says "Let's go out for a walk today!" but the right gear and  the fresh air actually made it enjoyable and invigorating.  The best part was that two women from Utah were starting their walk at the same time as us and they had their two little girls, about (4 years old) wearing mud boots and raincoats and everyone was having a great time. I didn't see Friday's flowers which was disappointing.  Lesson learned- enjoy what you are seeing, not what you expect to see.

Day # 14- March 24, 2017

 Such a peaceful day at Walden Pond.  Simple quietness. The water was calm, a big change from recent days.  The first part of our walk is always on the colder side of the pond and there is always something beautiful to discover along the shoreline. This time I found a lovely vignet of four ice bells hanging from a log. (Funny that last night I had just been corresponding with a friend about his wedding.)  We saw no water birds until we got around to the opposite side and noticed a pair of hooded mergansers and a pair of buffleheads, but they blended in so well with the reflections and were difficult to spot.

The true sign that spring is here came when we were almost done with our walk and something colorful caught my eye. The bright yellow stood out in the mellow coloration of the day.  The color of Happiness. :)    

Day #13- March 23, 2017 (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!)

A blustery day on the pond. A pair of swans joined the other birds on the water. I'm still enjoying the ice formations but wondering when spring will finally get here.

Day#12- March 22, 2017

Just before we arrived at Walden Pond today there had been a short snow squall. It looked like someone had dropped tiny styrofoam beads everywhere. These mini snowballs collected in every indentation in the snow. Almost all of the ice was off the pond again except a small patch in one of the coves.  The mini snowballs decorated the ice island like candy sprinkles.

Day #11- March 21, 2017

Today I shared my walk with my good friend Haralie. We were lucky enough to experience the same thing that Pete and I had experienced yesterday.  We watched and listened to the ice sheet as it slowly pushed up onto the shoreline and then pieces broke off and slid back down on top of the sheet.  It happened over and over again and then just stopped abruptly. 

Another amazing thing that I noticed was that, with my polarized sunglasses, some of the ice pieces were colored like rainbows.  They were gorgeous. The sun hit them just right and brought out such vibrant colors.  I wish I had a special lens to capture it.

Day #10- March 20, 2017

 Islands of thin ice were floating on Walden Pond today.  As we were walking I heard an odd sound and so we stopped and stood quietly.  You could hear the ice starting to move and then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, sheets of ice started to be pushed towards us, sliding on top of each other and then dramatically up onto the shore.  The sudden raucous crashing and breaking sounds stopped as quickly as they started, about a minute later and then peace returned to the pond. Cool!

Around the corner in the next cove we found the "lizard skin ice" again, making strange patterns of clear and cloudy frozen water. It reminds me of the skin on those Star Trek characters.

Day #9- March 17, 2017

 A lovely day today with Pete.  We kept company today with several kinds of ducks- common mergansers, hooded mergansers, a mallard couple, and a common goldeneye.  We still had to use our snowshoes, but as we stood on the sunny side of the pond and felt the warmth on our faces, you could feel that spring was on its way. 

 Racoon prints were all over in the shallow water in one of the coves.  There were also some empty mussel shells so perhaps he had enjoyed a little fresh water sushi after a long winter of ice-cover that had kept him from the tasty shellfish.

Day #8- March 16, 2017

 Today I was noticing how the water and the ice seem to play with each other.  I know that sounds strange, but there is something about the way the water tosses around the ice pieces along the windy shoreline, even tossing them up into piles on the land.  And then there's the way the ice covers and traps the waves as they travel underneath it and approach the shoreline and then the water finds a small hole in the ice and escapes dramatically as a geyser.

  I almost missed a beautiful ice formation in Thoreau's Cove.  I noticed that another set of footprints led down to the water and I decided to follow them to see what intrigued someone to go down there.  A beautiful layered ice cave suspended above the water glistened in the sunlight.  Just gorgeous. Thanks, whoever belongs to those footprints.

Day #7- March 15, 2017

 

It's the day after the blizzard and Pete and I had Walden Pond to ourselves except for a x-country skier who passed us, continued around the pond, and disappeared into the woods.  Besides his ski tracks, which were barely visible on the hard layer on the snow's surface, our snowshoe tracks were the only other evidence that people had been there.  At first I felt bad that we were disturbing the beauty of the scenery. And our snow shoes made such loud crunching noises as we walked, disturbing the peace and quiet.  Then I embraced our intrusion and realized that we were part of this place just like the deer who had left its footprints when it came down to the water to take a drink and then check out the teepee of sticks that someone had constructed.   

Day #6- March 14, 2017

Blizzard Warning.  The parking lot is closed but Pete dropped me off so I could take a short walk to catch a glimpse of the pond before the storm goes into full swing.  The first snow has collected on the surface of the water forming a patchwork covering of white and gray. As I watch the mergansers swimming quickly across the water, I can just sense that something is about to happen.

Day #5- March 13, 2017

 

 Temperatures in the teens have brought the ice back to Walden Pond today and the shoreline has become an ice wonderland.  I am amazed at how many different ice formations I've seen today. Nature is truly an inspiring and awesome sculptor.

Day #4- March 10, 2017

I had Walden Pond virtually to myself today except for a balding man with no hat or gloves who was leaving as I was arriving and a group being led by a park naturalist, who was arriving as I was leaving,  Light snow dusted the south side of the pond and everywhere I looked there were beautiful white-highlighted vignettes.  I watched several pairs of common merganser ducks swimming around on the pond but I can never get a close look at them- they keep a safe distance and a close eye on me.

Day #3- March 9, 2017

What a gorgeous day!  Today is all about the wind.  A brisk breeze is making whitecaps and waves that break on the shoreline.  No more ice on Walden Pond. I'm so glad I got to catch the last beautiful formations yesterday. Yesterday's fisherman is back and today's blue skies also brought out 2 joggers and a family with a cute little girl.

Day #2- March 8, 2017

Little did we all know yesterday what a special moment we were privileged to have that day.  Today is the ice-off day on Walden Pond, winter of 2017.  The water is open and there are no floating rocks or surreal sounds.  There was a cold drizzle early this morning so no one but a lone fisherman and I are here today and he has no idea of the significant change in the pond since yesterday.  The sky has begun to clear and I am enjoying a few beautiful ice formations still to be found along the edges in the shady coves.

Day #1- March 7, 2017

My first day of treatment and walk around Walden Pond is shared with the most important person in my life, my husband Pete. It's a cold, overcast day which I'm sure is keeping most people away, but they are missing out on a truly amazing day and an amazing phenomenon on the pond.

I first noticed that there were rocks floating on the water.  But the completely transparent ice had caused the illusion.  Then I heard an unusual sound, like a large flock of birds beating their wings in flight off in the distance. We then realized it was the wind causing the thin ice to vibrate.  As we approached the next cove a class of high school students was discovering another variation of that phenomenon.  Whenever someone threw a rock on the ice, it created an amazing, unworldly sound that carried out across the pond. What a special experience!