I love spending the lazy hours of a Sunday looking back on old memories with my amazing loved ones. Sometimes, these memories come flooding back thanks to an old picture, a moment, or even a book.

Sometimes, its the combination of all three.

This book immediately brought back the memory of a day spent at Walden Pond with my son. The story is a simple look at one of America’s more simple men Henry David Thoreau and it ultimately resulted in a visit to the historic site.

If You Spent a Day with Thoreau at Walden Pond

In 1845 in Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau built a cabin in the woods and lived there alone for two years while he examined the world around him.

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately.”

He spent his days walking the shores of Walden Pond. We visited this wonderful place and I can share with you that it was pouring rain the day we were there! As we walked around the pond, we could see people swimming the whole length of the pond.

From what we have heard, some people do this every day as long as the water isn’t frozen.

Henry David Thoreau also grew beans and observed all the plants and wildlife around him. He recorded all of these findings in his notebooks.

This book tells the story of Henry David Thoreau through the eyes of a child. I know how special and magical this place is by experiencing it through the eyes of my child. What if you could spend the day with Henry David Thoreau?

Through the pages of this book, you now can. There is a special shimmering light at Walden Pond, both on the water and in the surrounding area. Artist Wendell Minor has perfectly captured it, so much so that I was transported back there immediately.

Things to Ponder

If you spent the day with Thoreau you’d wake up at sunrise and watch the sunrise. Take a sunrise walk and watch the world wake-up.

What do you see?

What can you hear?

What’s the temperature like?

Does it get warmer as the sun comes up?

How does the world wake up where you live? 

If you walked with Thoreau you would tend his beans in his bean patch. Plant some green beans of your own and watch them grow. If you’re reading this post in a non-growing season, take some Lima beans and place them in a wet towel in a glass jar and watch them sprout and come alive.

Take a walk in the woods together.
Listen to the birds. What are they saying ? How many different sorts of birds can you hear?
Pick huckleberries, blueberries, or blackberries. Then make a yummy cobbler.
Lie on your back and watch the clouds. Thoreau called this “Dreaming Awake” time.
Lie on your stomach on the ground and watch the ants.

What sort of observing and “Thoreau-like” activities can you think of?