Tuesday, July 6, 2021

When I Visited Walden Pond

By Kathryn Lane

The past three years, my husband and I have spent the summers in a cabin in northern New Mexico. We are isolated, in a way. We are connected to the outside world with excellent internet, workable phone communications, and muddy dirt roads during the rainy season.

As I watch the deer, elk, birds, and the occasional bear, I’m reminded of my favorite Henry David Thoreau quote "We can never have enough of nature." And that takes me to his experiences at Walden Pond.

During my corporate years, I mostly worked overseas, but on two rare occasions I had domestic assignments. One of those instances, I went to Boston for three weeks. I loved the city and became mesmerized by its history, especially that pertaining to the American Revolution. Being from Mexico, I did not know US history and this was a unique opportunity. In the evenings, I walked the Freedom Trail, stopping along the way at Faneuil Hall, the old State House, and continuing to Paul Revere’s statue and his home, now the oldest building in downtown Boston.

One weekend, I visited Lexington and Concord where the revolution started. Being an avid cyclist at the time, I rented a bicycle so I could visit Walden Pond. Thoreau’s book, Walden, intrigued me and here was my opportunity to cycle around the entire pond and enjoy the place where he had lived for a couple of years.

The pond, a kettle hole formed by retreating glaciers about 10,000 years ago, was worth seeing, not to mention experiencing the place Thoreau made famous. The shores of the pond consisted of terrain suitable for walking but I quickly learned that tree roots and sharp rocks were not kind to bicycle tires! After fixing a flat halfway around, I decided to walk the bike the rest of the way to make sure I could ride back to Concord where I’d left the rental car.

Now that I live close to nature part of the year, I reflect on Thoreau's years there and his writing.

The central ideas expressed in Walden are experience, self-reliance, and worship. He examined the fundamental elements of humanity. Very lofty ideas.

My novels are genre, plain and simple. And I love writing them from a mountain cabin! Yet, as an author who loves history, you’d think I’d write historical novels. Mysteries and thrillers fascinate me and that’s what I write. I’m captivated by the twists and turns of mystery and suspense.

Of course, there are historical mysteries. Humm, I’ll have to ponder that thought while enjoying the mountain scenery of northern New Mexico!

Do you secretly wish you wrote in a different genre?

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Visit me at https://www.Kathryn-Lane.com I love hearing from readers. Ask a question, suggest an idea, or comment about the blog.

The Nikki Garcia Mystery Series: eBook Trilogy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GZNF17G



Kathryn Lane started out as a starving artist. To earn a living, she became a certified public accountant and embarked on a career in international finance with a major multinational corporation. After two decades, she left the corporate world to plunge into writing mystery and suspense thrillers. In her stories, Kathryn draws deeply from her Mexican background as well as her travels in over ninety countries.

12 comments:

  1. I enjoyed reading about your lovely nature journey, Kathryn. I grew up spending a lot of time on the family farms and on the beaches in Texas. Those experiences found their way into my writing as well.

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    1. Thank you, Kathleen. We are so lucky as writers to have those experiences in nature and incorporate them in our writing!

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  2. Kathryn, your post makes me yearn to be in nature after the year+ we've had. Hoping to complete some obligations and get away soon. As to a writing in a different genre, I started a historical novel a few years ago, before my first mystery found a publisher. I also have a children's book waiting for my attention, after the third mystery is released. But before I change gears... a nature getaway, for sure.

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    1. Gay, I'd love for you to visit us in Angel Fire. Plenty of photo ops for your husband and a wonderful place to experience nature. The only caveat is that now we have to wait until next year because we sold our "big" house in The Woodlands to downsize and we close on the new house in The Woodlands in early August. So that means we have to leave my beloved mountain cabin early this year so I cannot invite you out this year (plus I read in one of your blog comments that you're busy writing your third novel).
      I've been tempted to write children's books, but have not yet.
      You need to get yours published!!
      And get the third novel out, too!

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    2. Thanks so much, Kathryn. Sounds like you've got plenty on your plate right now. Best of luck on your move. Here's to 2022!

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  3. Kathryn - Thanks for sharing your travels. After the year we've had, I really miss travel and hope to be able to travel soon. I write genre fiction also and though my agent would like to see me branch out, it's what I love to write. Maybe some time away would change my mind...or maybe not. :-)

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    1. I know what you mean about loving to write genre. It's my first love too even though in my reading I have an ample variety of literary, non-fiction, historical, etc. that I read. We have to write what we really enjoy writing - it's a huge commitment of time!

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  4. Lovely post, Kathryn. In all my trips to Boston, I've never been to Walden Pond. Must correct that.

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    1. Yes, it's a really nice place to visit. A lot more people go there now and I understand that too many people have gone swimming in it, making it necessary to impose some rules. However, I still recommend it. To me, it was one of those places I fell in love with because of the history of the place.

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  5. Enjoyed the picture into moments of serenity for you.... I think most of us, in reflection, want to explore different avenues of writing.

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    1. Thanks, Debra. I agree that we sometimes want to explore different avenues of writing. I also think we have the best job in the world. Writing is so much fun!! In my reflections, I wish I'd started it sooner!

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