Henry Thoreau

[country doctor]

well the doc saw some nice animal sites lately up here in the land of pines and lakes...

on saturday he caught two baby foxes hiding out in the tall grass, but curious as to what the doc was up to...strangely, no mother around so hope all is gonna end well for the pups...

yesterday a baby fawn was running beside the doc when he was pedaling his bike...the fawn was running on the side of the road, in the ditch...the doc was on the road...but the little fella stayed up w/ the doc for about 50 yards before it cut back into the woods at the top of the hill...pretty neat to see, as that had never happened before...

then stepping out onto the deck last nite, what did the doc see but a doe staring straight up at him not 25 yards away...we had a stareoff for awhile, w/ the deer doing nothing but staring at the doc and twitching her ear...

finally after a couple of minutes the doc took a couple of steps forward and the doe moved into the woods...could still see it for another minute or so looking the doc's way from a hidden spot behind some trees...a few more steps forward and off she went deeper into the woods...

cool beans...

as for another disciple of thoreau? the doc read this weekend that charles lindbergh found inspiration in all of his work later in his life...he became lindbergh's 'god' according to the writer beginning in the late 1950's...

[PeterL]

i wonder what two weeks on the Concord and Nashua Rivers would be like now. I'll have to read that and laugh.

[G L Wilson]

In Australia, the true bushman hates the bush.

[country doctor]

right now it's turtle nesting season in the doc's neck of the woods...and accordingly the doc is doing his part to make sure that as many of these nesting turtles reach their destination as he sees...

it's disappointing when you come across a crushed turtle shell in the road and the department of natural resources asks that if you see a turtle crossing a road and you have the opportunity, pick them up and deliver them to the other side of the road on as straight a line as possible...of course, the optimum is letting the turtles cross the road on their own, but the doc has seen too many of them crushed on the roads to not help them out...here's the DNR's recommendations for others that might see a turtle this time of the year on a dangerous road...

* Maintain direction of travel if road crossing assistance is necessary. Turtles should be moved across roadways in as direct a line as possible, unless doing so would definitely put them in peril.



the doc's done this a couple of times this week...

he also saw the biggest snapping turtle he's ever seen already make it's destination on the other side of the road yesterday...it was huuggee!! looked almost like a tortoise...

other sights of nature that the doc saw this week was a raccoon that crossed his path...

the mosquitos and wood ticks are out in force as well...it's not all peaches and cream from mother nature...

[prickly_pete]

If we knew all the laws of Nature, we should need only one fact, or the description of one actual phenomenon, to infer all the particular results at that point.

Yeah, well, now that classical mechanics is dead we can pretty much throw that thought out the window.

I always thought Thoreau one of the more pretentious of the well known philosophers. Of course you'd see nature as some enchanting goddess - you're an Ivy League stuffed shirt, you never worked a day in your life. Sure, you went up to Walden and planted some beans for a few weeks, but if that didn't work you'd always have your money and blue blood to fall back on so you're not really 'living amongst the squirrels' as much as you might think.

Blanket statement about how life should be lived seems fairly ridiculous to me, but especially when they come from people who've never gone to bed hungry, never broken their backs for a measly living, never heard a single bullet whistle past their heads, etc....

[Rores28]

Does everyone know that pete was in Iraq, and regularly had bullets whizzing by his head?

Your welcome pete. Now you don't have to awkwardly inject that somewhere.

[prickly_pete]

I be up in the mix of action
While you're at home, on the couch relaxin'!!!

[IceM]

I always thought Thoreau one of the more pretentious of the well known philosophers. Of course you'd see nature as some enchanting goddess - you're an Ivy League stuffed shirt, you never worked a day in your life. Sure, you went up to Walden and planted some beans for a few weeks, but if that didn't work you'd always have your money and blue blood to fall back on so you're not really 'living amongst the squirrels' as much as you might think.

Blanket statement about how life should be lived seems fairly ridiculous to me, but especially when they come from people who've never gone to bed hungry, never broken their backs for a measly living, never heard a single bullet whistle past their heads, etc....

I agree, in that Thoreau, much as I admire his writing and powerful voice, is pretentious with his Walden experiment, but for different reasons as the quote I'm using. Thoreau maintained regular contact with friends, often inviting them over to share in the beauty of Walden lake. This kills the validity of the experiment for me. He certainly lives in circumstances that are distinct from the wealth and luxury he was afforded in Concord. That is indisputable. But the purity of the experiment is corrupted by visitors. How many visionary ideas may he have developed through isolation, entertaining none but thoughts, Nature, and those measly woodchucks?

Pete's distaste for "high" society misses the point here. How many impoverished individuals have the luxury to detach themselves from wealth and experience life without it? Thoreau had the luxury to experiment with life without wealth, and in doing so, crafted some wonderful philosophical ideas that may not have been generated without this experiment. Walden serves as a living testament to the beauty of Nature as seen through eyes dismissing the Concordian materialism. Simply because he had the luxury to embark on the minimalist journey doesn't suggest the results are invalid.

I be up in the mix of action
While you're at home, on the couch relaxin'!!!

For a war veteran, I'm finding your behavior more and more distasteful. You have a bitter disgust for "high" society which is becoming more and more inflammatory, and are now immaturely mocking people. I hope you reconsider how you address some of your peers.

[country doctor]

another week has gone by w/ the doc being in tune with his surroundings and nature...the deer seem to be popping out again more and more...he's ran into them on three different occasions this week...one day he came across a doe w/ her two fawns...she was the first to bolt into the woods...the fawns just stared at the doc before one and then the other went to catch up w/ mom...always a thrill to get up close to them...

the doc keeps having these words run through his brain these days while he's out there getting his exercise...

It is life near the bone, where it is sweetest.
- Henry David Thoreau

[G L Wilson]

You are classy, Rores28, for mocking a veteran because he is a veteran - real classy.

[mortalterror]

You are classy, Rores28, for mocking a veteran because he is a veteran - real classy.

I'd say he has an edge on kids who create multiple accounts on forums, and fabricate personas, to pretend to be something they are not.

[G L Wilson]

I'd say he has an edge on kids who create multiple accounts on forums, and fabricate personas, to pretend to be something they are not.

What multiple accounts? You libel me, sir. I will dispute you on logical grounds. What gives you reason to believe that I have multiple personalities? How could I have multiple accounts? What makes you think that these things are true of an honest person? I put these questions to you, sir, please answer them.

[country doctor]

it's time again for the doc to bring all the readers up to date w/ his latest communes w/ nature...

how many of the readers have seen a silver fox? well the doc has a pair of these rare creatures living practically in his back yard...right across the road must be where they make their home, because the doc has come across them numerous times right on that gravel road this summer...the first time he saw it, he didn't know what to make of the creature...it darted into the woods real quick and all the doc knew was that it wasn't a coyote and that all the foxes he ever had seen before were red ones...

but sure enough he talked w/ one of the old timers in his neck of the woods and was informed that there's a pair of silver foxes that are making their home right near the doc...

since then he's come across one or the other four more times...the last time the fox stared for quite awhile at the doc and the doc at he before he dove into the tall grass...