Walden Cottage

I have named the little cabin, "Walden Cottage."

 It will never be mine, but I do get to drive past it all of the time. Truly the summer of Thoreau.

"Most of the luxuries 

and many of the so-called 

comforts of life are not only 

not indispensable, but positive 

hindrances to the elevation 

of mankind." - Walden

Wanderers

 

I don't understand these youth who come straight out of the pocket,

And know right where they are heading.

I only know how to obey the call of the wanderers, 

Who don't even know they've been wandering, 

And have only now reached the shore.

Their story is deeper, though harder, stronger, though longer. 

It weaves and strays onto paths that take years to untangle from, 

Still, it has them where they are today. 

They have bloomed, though lately.

~Copyright 2011, Bookish Kind

Photo by John William Waterhouse - "Ophelia" 1889

Everything Told of the Sea

"Having come so fresh to the sea, I have got but little salted."
"As I looked over the water, I saw the isles rapidly wasting away , the sea nibbling voraciously at the continent."
"Every landscape which is dreary enough has a certain beauty to my eyes, and in this instance its permanent qualities were enhanced by the weather."
"Everything told of the sea...sometimes the rib of a whale was woven into the fence by the roadside."
 "The owner of these trees invariably used the personal pronoun in speaking of them ; as, "I got him out of the woods, but he doesn't bear."
"Such spots can be beautiful only to the returning native, not to him who has just come out of the woods."

But he did find it beautiful, after all.

This was never intended to be the summer of Thoreau, but you move with the tides, so to speak. I just bought this old copy of his book, "Cape Cod," after discovering a paperback version of it which I am currently reading. I am only on page 42, and already have several favorite quotes. What "Walden," is to woods, "Cape Cod," is to the sea. You can read it online here.

"We do not associate the idea of antiquity with the ocean, nor wonder how it looked a thousand years ago, as we do of the land, for it was equally wild and unfathomable always."
"On the whole, we were glad of the storm, which would show us the ocean in its angriest mood."

My Book Footprint - I Love the Wandering

 We all leave a trail of books behind us, even as we look ahead to the next one. You find them in various places and they become yours, at least for the moment. You take a risk with something new and it becomes a new favorite, or you discover an author you have not read before, and it opens up a whole slew of new books to discover. Then there are the ones you think you'll like and they end up being ones you can't quite get through, or you put them down and intend to read them one day, but sadly never do, even though you want to.

The intake and outtake of books is fascinating to me, and I am sure if I had a book trail with footprints to show where I had wandered, it would be interesting, to say the least. My book footprint would show trails that path through literature, biographies, history, and poetry, mostly. Even there, the trail would jag off in many different directions, as I found my way through to discover the books I love. Not surprisingly, I am still on the trail, leaving footprints daily. Surely my path is retraced and backtracked in my discoveries.

But I love the wandering, the adventure that the walking through affords. I wouldn't take the back steps back, for they have me where I am today. Making the most of the journey, while I add a treasure here and there to my shelf, and let go of some that no longer mean the world anymore.

Treasures can change just like people change. But really, not so much.

 Photo credits

John Elk III - Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park During Autumn, Missouri

sorrythankyou79  -Anne Books

Arthur Rackham - Undancey

Within Your Reach

God pours out His beauty,
There is nowhere it can't be.
It might sometimes get overlooked
But it's there within your reach.
A glance becomes a stolen look
The captured moment fades
Layer upon layer presented, All the world's a parade

Is the sound in the forest a sound if someone doesn't hear it? I say, yes.
If only the birds hear it, it's still beauty of the earth, fulfilling its purpose. I wonder how many times we glance at beauty only to look away and forget it. There must be endless such moments in a lifetime.


Top photo is from the Redwood Forest, California.
Bottom photo is of St Francis by Albert Chavallier Tayler

Little Cabin

There is a tiny little home (cottage) for sale, nearby, that reminds me so much of Thoreau's cabin by the pond, (replica shown).
The owners want $110,000 dollars for it, though I am not sure why, other than it has maybe an acre of land around it, (not a lot).
Since I don't have an extra 100 grand around at the moment, I would appreciate it if you'd stop by the book shop and buy a book or two. I don't want to let it get away from me!

Kindred Spirits

It's a very subtle nod to Anne Shirley. If you are not familiar with her, you might miss it. But the white sailor dress worn today by the Duchess of Cambridge was just that.Such a high profile kindred spirit will surely shed some light on the Anne of Green Gables books, written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, to a new generation. Hopefully they'll put down those vampire books for awhile and discover a heroine worth knowing.