Today is another rainy day. While sitting by the window watching the rain, I thought of one of the joys of this Chinese New Year, taking a morning walk with my daughter on a cloudy day.

The fifth day of this Chinese New Year is Sunday, my two grandchildren who don’t usually go to the daycare on Sunday will go because Teacher K is free this Sunday, also because they didn’t go Friday! My daughter suggested we visit the San Jose Rose Garden after dropping the babies, I replied: “The roses haven’t bloomed yet, and it is cloudy. Let’s take a walk at the nearby Lake Cunningham Park.”

I was in a rush before going out in the morning and didn’t wear a windbreaker. My daughter only noticed it while driving. She was worried that I would catch a cold if I went for a walk while wearing so little, so I said, “I’ll be warm after a walk, or we can go home get a windbreaker, after dropping the babies.”

Once we arrived at Teacher K’s house, my grandchildren went to play with their favorite toys immediately, and my daughter said to K: “Do you have a thick coat to borrow? As my mother doesn’t have a windbreaker and we are planning to go for a walk in Lake Cunningham Park on the way home.” K went to her closet and brought out five coats for me to choose from. Her thoughtfulness made me happy and my daughter’s flexibility also made me happy. I was in a good mood before I even went for the walk. I picked a beige windbreaker that fit me well. After my daughter thanked K, we left and drove to Lake Cunningham Park. The parking lots there were all empty.

After my daughter parked the car, I took her to the trail along the lake for a walk. At 9:30 on a Sunday morning, there were very few people on the lakeside trail. The occasional runners, dog walkers, and bicycle riders were probably people who really liked outdoor activities, except for the two of us who came early because we had to send the babies to daycare.

I actually like to sleep in. Some time ago, I read a small post saying that it is good for the physical and mental health of the elderly not to sleep in and get up on time in the morning. I thought of my father who went to bed and got up early and was in good health, and thought of how before he passed away at almost 93 years old, he could still read and wrote articles online every day. I started to get up early and on time since then. Although I haven’t felt the benefits of not sleeping in, I think it won’t hurt to stick to it. Maybe it will show health benefits in ten years. I feel the familiar “have an immediate effect” lifestyle is really fading away for me now.

While walking on the lakeside trail, we looked at the lively ducks, geese, and seagulls on the water, I told my daughter: “In the summer, you can see small fish in the water and turtles basking in the sun on the rocks.” We continued walking along the lake, and a while later, my daughter said she saw a turtle sticking its head out of the water, but unfortunately I didn’t see it.

After the turtle, I can’t help but remember Walden Pond in Massachusetts, a place where my daughter and I often went for walks. According to Wikipedia, Walden Pond is a famous example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. Walden Pond attracts more tourists because of a leading transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau’s book “Walden”. Once when we were walking on the waterside under the slope next to the railway, my daughter said she saw a turtle floating on the water. I followed the direction she pointed and saw a big green turtle over a foot long. I was very surprised to see such a big turtle. After that, every time we passed that section of water, we always stopped and took a closer look at the water, unfortunately we never saw the green turtle again. At that time, my daughter was single and now she is a mother of two kids, and we also had been away from Massachusetts for almost three years. Time flies!

We passed an open field with fitness equipment and came to the dock. As I like chairs under the shade, I pointed to the chair under the tree by the lake and said: “Look, the chair under the tree is very popular in the summer because of the shade.” The bankside of lake my grandson Ben and I once watched the ducks is gone because the water level of the lake is high during the rainy season. While watching the vanished bank under the dark clouds, I saw many seagulls taking off and landing on the lake, I feel it is lively here.

We changed the route at the end of the lakeside trail and walked to the water playground, which has been renamed CaliBunga Waterpark after switching owners in 2024. The parking lot there is also empty because it is closed in the winter. My daughter still remembers the happy times she and her brother went to the Ranging Waters, used to be called. She said that she will take Ben back to visit the old place in the near future because children love to play in the water.

It took less than an hour to walk a large circle in the park, we felt very relaxed and not tired. On the way to the parking lot, I asked my daughter to take a few photos for me.

The photo captured the cloudy sky on Sunday morning, the empty parking lot, my joy after a walk, K’s beige double-layer buttons windbreaker, and the pink scarf I knitted for my daughter when she was in middle school. This scarf has been with me from California to Massachusetts, and from Massachusetts back to California. The color and texture remain the same, and the memories are clear. It is a souvenir with manyfamily stories.

On rainy days, staying at home is a good time for replaying the fun of walking and chatting with my daughter and the thoughts triggered by it! At age 60, I pray for family harmony and purposeful unity.

Little Episodes

In September 2023, I spent a day at Lake Cunningham Park and watched the sunset before going home, and I started to like this park, and wrote a story。

In March 2021, it was still winter at Walden Pond, we walked on a downhill trail covered with ice, though it was very difficult to walk there, we still finished walking a circle around the pond, and here is the story.

In December 2020, I went for a walk at the snow covered Walden Pond, the peaceful scenery led me to enjoy the rich sounds of nature more story.

In September 2020, we went for a morning walk at Walden Pond, which was full with the COVID-19 pandemic atmosphere. Here is the story.

Yesterday’s temperature was 45 Fahrenheit, the ice on Charles river had already melted, there were lots of geese, ducks, and seagulls in the river; I also saw locals were feeding the birds on the bank of the river. This image made me think that spring was finally approaching the East Coast.

On Thursday afternoon, my daughter and I visited Walden Pond to feel the spring there. However, there was no sight of spring on Walden Pond in early March. The entire pond was covered by thick ice and locals were sitting in the middle of the pond fishing.

Though the pond was covered by ice, the trail along the shore of pond had no trace of snow, so we walked along the trail at a comfortable but fast pace.

When we came to the wooden bridge which was less than a half circle of the pond from the starting point, we passed by two walkers walking the opposite direction. Being a good citizen and obeying the rules, I could not resist to comment about them: “This is a one way trail, they seems don’t care about it at all.”

The trail became snowy after the wooden bridge so we had to slow down.

After we climbed to the hill where the trail is adjacent to the railroad, we reached the downhill trail that was icy and extremely slippery. Walking down the hill, we had to step by step sideway and hold the thin wire (3 cm) of the handrail constantly. Now I was regretting that I did not ask the two people at the wooden bridge why they turned back on the trail.

We finally finished one lap around the pond, it took longer than the time it took to finish two laps around the pond before.

When we were ready to leave the pond and walked up the stone stair from the pond, we saw a tired man dressed in outdoor outfits sitting on the corner of the building resting.

We said hello to him, and he said: “This is the worse trip I ever had.”

My daughter agreed: “Yes, Today’s trail is too slippery!”

The man replied: “Coming back in spring, it will be easy to walk.”

I laughed: “Walden Pond in March is still freezing, when the spring will be here?”

Reading my previous stories about “Walden Pond in September” and “Walden Pond in December“, I see I will soon become a frequent all-seasonal visitor to Walden Pond.

Little Episodes

1. Wednesday’s Charles River Scenery:

Spring warm, the bank of Charles river in Waltham, yesterday’s temperature was 14 Fahrenheit, today’s temperature is 44 Fahrenheit. Someone joked: “When temperature is above freezing point, we should prepare our summer outfits.”

Places with distinctive four seasons like Waltham will stimulate stronger longing for warm weather in cold weather; Waltham seemed strengthen me well.

2. Thursday, icy Walden Pond, icy on the pond and icy on the trail:

昨天气温零上7度，我在Charles河边看到河面已经解冻、河上好多鹅鸭和鸥、河边有投食的闲人，我觉得美东的春天快来了。

今天下午，女儿和我一起去瓦尔登湖感受春意。可是三月初的瓦尔登湖没有一丝春意， 整个湖面上是厚厚的结冰，湖中还坐着钓鱼的人。

虽然湖面满是冰，沿着湖边的单行道上没有雪的痕迹，我们快步行走，很舒服！

来到栈道上，我们和两个人迎面擦肩而过后继续在单行道上往前走。我忍不住以遵纪守法的好公民语气道：“这是单行道，那两人也不在乎逆行。”

过了栈道之后，小道上开始有积雪了，我们的步伐也自然慢下来了。

爬上与铁路相邻的山坡后，下坡的小道上的积雪开始变成冰了，下坡的冰道面奇滑，我们只好侧着身，手扶着直径3厘米的铁栏杆一步一步小心翼翼地往前挪。这时我才后悔在栈道上我没有多嘴问一问那两个人为什么要往回走。

我们花了比平常绕湖走两圈还多的时间异常艰难地完成了绕湖一圈的旅程。

从湖边拾级而上准备离开，我们看到石阶上的建筑边坐着一个显得疲乏的中年人。

我们给他打招呼，他感叹道：“今天的小道是最难走的了。”

女儿应和道：“今天的小道太滑了！”

那人说：“等春天再来，就好走了。”

我笑了：“三月份的瓦尔登湖还是寒冬腊月，什么时候才是春天？”

读着九月和十二月的瓦尔登湖游记，我快成那里四季的常客了。

小插曲
1. 周三，Charles河边的春意：

春暖了， Charles 河边，昨天零下10度，今天零上7度。有人开玩笑：“高于零度我们就准备夏装了。”四季分明的地方，让人充满渴望，也让人更坚强。

2. 周四，瓦尔登湖结着冰的湖面和小道：

3. 瓦尔登湖游记
九月的瓦尔登湖。
十二月的瓦尔登湖（2020。

12-06-2020， Sunday, Sunny

Saturday’s snow completely covered the car and the ground.

Sunday’s bright sun made the snowy landscape very pretty. My daughter and I drove to see the snowy scenery of Walden Pond on the cold Sunday morning.

Walden Pond in December, unlike in September, was very quiet and had very few visitors, which presented a very clam and peaceful atmosphere to us.

While walking on the uphill trail between the pond and the railroad, I saw a man carrying a baby on his chest was walking towards us from the opposite direction. As a tall and skinny figure man, he looked dignified to me.

After we passed him and went down to the pond, I heard the man yodeling loudly on the top of the hill, his voice echoed through the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. It sounded wild.

When we came down to the bottom of the hill and reached the pond, I saw a mother with a toddler daughter standing near the water, they were looking towards the direction where the loud voice came from.

I curiously asked: “Did you heard the guy is yelling on the top of the hill?”

“Is my daddy.” The little girl happily said.

“Yes, he is calling my name.” The mother smiled.

The mother’s answer brought me a great joy, as I learnt that a family of four was playing a private game, on that quiet and snowy Sunday morning at Walden Pond.

The father who carried his little baby, stood on the top of the hill, yodeled for his wife’s name behind the woods and above the water. He seemed to have a good time showcasing a city man’s wildness and boldness without making a scene.

The mother and her toddler daughter stood at the bank of the pond and happily listened to the very familiar name that bursted out of the quiet woods and echoed between the sky and the water, I felt they were immersed in a gigantic stereo system that was created from nature.

After experienced this very rare joyful moment of a voice game, I became more sensible towards sounds. On our second lap near the bank of the pond, I started to hear the delightful rhythms of soft water waves, the delicate cracking sound of my feet breaking into the soft and fluffy snow, and the gentle whispers of pine trees swaying in the wind. I enjoyed a natural concert at Walden Pond in December on a snowy Sunday morning.

Little Episodes

Snowy Walden Pond scene: under the blue sky and white cloudy, greenish pond, fresh snow, and tall pine woods.

2020-12-06， 周日，艳阳天

周六的雪盖住车也盖住了地。周日阳光下银装素裹的室外很美，早晨，我驱车去瓦尔登湖看风景。

雪后的瓦尔登湖很迷人，我绕湖步行观景，一路上只见到寥寥几个游人。十二月的瓦尔登湖没有了九月的喧哗和温暖，显得格外的静。

走在湖和铁路之间的山坡上，我遇到一位怀里兜着一个婴儿的父亲独自漫步在林间雪地，他高挑单薄看上去文质彬彬。

在下山的小道上我却听到他在山坡上大声吆喝，声音回荡在宁静的空气中，听起来有种粗野。

下坡后过湖边时，我看到一位妈妈和小女儿正站在湖边冲着吆喝声的方向张望。

我忍不住问道：“山坡上那人在吆喝？”

“是我爸爸！” 小女孩很开心。

“是的，他是在叫我” 那位妈妈微笑着回答。

那位妈妈的回答让我感叹这一家四口别致的情趣：周日在冰天雪地人迹稀少的瓦尔登湖畔玩私家游戏。

父亲兜着小宝宝站在山头隔着林子隔着水面呼唤妻子的名字，享受都市人不失风度地释放狂野和演绎奔放的好时光。

母亲和小女儿站在湖边开心地倾听熟悉的声音，享受熟悉的名字划破宁静回荡在天地湖面的大自然奉献的独特音响。

偶遇这罕见的欢快场景之后，我对声音多了一份关注。再次漫步在湖边时，我听到湖水有节拍地打着湖岸的柔和浪声，听到脚步陷进新鲜积雪的细腻破碎声，还听到不远处也不疯狂的松涛起伏声，我享受到大自然的交响乐，在十二月银装的瓦尔登湖岸。

银装的瓦尔登湖边景色：蓝天白云下的墨绿湖水、新鲜雪地、和高高松林。

My daughter had no class today, so we drove to the nearby Walden Pond State Reservation early in the morning.

There were signs saying “Dogs not allowed” before we reached the lake. We saw a few swimmers in the lake, some of them had brightly colored yellow or orange floating balls tied to their legs as they swam. Slow moving bright objects floating on the surface of dark blue lake which was surrounded by fresh green trees, this is a very unique sight from far away.

When I saw swimmers in the lake, I asked the life guard: “Are there showers here?”

Life guard said: “Yes, there are showers. However, all are shut down this year, because of COVID-19.”

It drizzled. We walked on the dirt trail along the lake for one circle, which is about 1.7 miles. The trail is underneath trees with dense leaves, the dense leaves shielded us from the drizzle like a roof, so the trail was dry and we enjoyed the very fresh air along the lake in the rain without getting wet.

While walking, we saw lots of brave chipmunks on the road and on trees alone. When I looked at a chipmunk sitting on a branch, it stared back at me didn’t move, very cute.

There were no benches along the trail, I missed the comfortable benches I used to sit on while visiting Filoli garden in Silicon Valley, a garden that is a personal favorite of mine.

Because of COVID-19, the 1.7 miles trail was a one way trail now. Walking on the empty, quiet, one way trail, we heard trains passing by a few times. So we noticed that part of the trail is next to a rail road, and we saw Amtrak trains.

Walking along the lake with a few meters between us and the water, we heard someone saying “hello” from the lake. Then we saw two senior ladies wearing swimsuits and playing in the water.

My daughter politely replied. “Is the water cold?”

One of the lady in the water joked: “Oh, it is very cold, you’ll need to wear jacket.”

Another lady said: “I feel fresh.”

My daughter said. “Enjoy.” Then we went ahead.

Later, we saw a boy fishing on the shore of the lake. My daughter wondered what kinds of fish he was trying to catch. The boy told us a long list of fish names, I heard the name bass a few times. It sounded like there were many kinds of fish at Walden Pond.

According to wikipedia, Walden Pond is a famous example of a kettle hole, it was formed by retreating glaciers 10,000–12,000 years ago. Walden Pond attracts more tourists because of a leading transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau’s book “Walden”. Walden Pond is a beautiful place with mixed culture and natural history.

Little Episodes

1. 09-02-2020 Walden Pond：

2. Fish in Walden Pond (poster in Boston Logan Airport)：

3. Some writer said: “Thoreau’s life, so fully expressed in his writing, has had a pervasive influence because it was an example of moral heroism and an example of the continuing search for a spiritual dimension in American life.”

2020年9月2日，周三。

女儿今天没有课，我们一大早就去附近的瓦尔登湖（Walden Pond）州立公园晨走。

没有到湖边我们就看到“不准带狗”的标志。早上的瓦尔登湖里和湖边有零星的人在游泳，有的游泳者的腰上绑着一个色彩鲜艳的黄色或红色浮球。翠绿的树护着深蓝色的湖，湖面上漂浮游走着几个亮眼的小球，远远看去很别致的一道风景。

看到有人在湖里游泳，我问湖边的救生员：“游完泳后，这里有冲澡的地方吗？”
救生员说：“有，因为COVID19，今年关了。”

天上下着细雨，我们雨中行，绕着湖边的泥土碎石小道走了一圈。小道在树林浓荫下，茂密的树叶象屋顶一样挡住了雨水，一路上我们没有被细雨淋到，又享受到湖边雨中格外清新的空气。沿途，我们看到好多大摇大摆的金花鼠，在地上，在树上。当我和树上的金花鼠平视时，金花鼠也瞪着眼看我，有趣的小精灵。

小道边没有椅子，让我想起Filoli花园里宜人的椅子，一种个人癖好。

因为COVID19，小道变成了单行道，在几乎没有行人的单行道上，我们时常听到火车声，原来紧邻小道有一段铁路，不时有客车驶过。

走在离湖面几米远的小道上，我们路过穿着游泳衣在湖中戏水的两位老太太。水中的一位冲着我们打招呼，远远的。
女儿礼貌地回应：“水里冷吗？”。
水中一位开玩笑：“哦，很冷，需要穿外套。”
另一位说：“很清新的感觉。”
女儿说：“好好享受。”

随后我们路过一位在湖边垂钓的小男孩。女儿问他能钓到什么鱼，他一口气说出一大串鱼名，（光bass就有几种），湖里有好多种鱼。

瓦尔登湖是一个典型的锅形陷洞湖，因一万多年前的冰川融化而成。瓦尔登湖因作家梭罗（Henry David Thoreau）的超验主义经典作品《瓦尔登湖》吸引着更多的游客，是一个美丽的人文自然景区。

小插曲

1. 2020-09-02 瓦尔登湖景色：

2. 波士顿机场关于瓦尔登湖里鱼种的介绍：

3. 百度上关于《瓦尔登湖》的创作背景读起来一点不陌生，虽然那是两个世纪前的现象，历史在轮回。
“19世纪上半叶的美国正处于由农业时代向工业时代转型的初始阶段。伴随着资本主义社会工业化的脚步，美国经济迅猛发展，社会不断进步，蓬勃发展的工业和商业造成了社会大众当时普遍流行的拜金主义思想和享乐主义思想占绝对主导地位。同时，也刺激着人们对财富和金钱的无限制追逐，人们都在为了获取更多的物质财富，过上更好的物质生活而整日忙碌着。聚敛财富成为了人们生活的唯一目标，为了达到这个目标可以不顾一切。人们疯狂、贪婪、过度的拉取、霸占有限的自然资源，开垦荒地的同时，大面积的森林也随之消失，大机器的轰鸣声随处可闻，而鸟儿的歌声却很难寻觅。人们无限制的向大自然索取，最后也遭到了大自然的严厉惩罚。导致森林覆盖率急逸下降，水土流失日益严重，生物的多样性不断减少等等一系列的环境问题，使得整个自然生态受到了前所未有的破坏与污染，而且人类自身的生存环境也变得岌岌可危。 [3]
从1845年7月到1847年9月，梭罗独自生活在瓦尔登湖边，差不多正好两年零两个月。瓦尔登湖不仅为梭罗提供了一个栖身之所，也为他提供了一种独特的精神氛围，之后他推出了自己的作品《瓦尔登湖》。”