4.27.2008
Nooning Nature
Thoreau's Journal: 27-Apr-1860
I stand under Lee’s Cliff. There is a certain summeriness in the air now, especially under a warm cliff like this, where you smell the very dry leaves, and hear the pine warbler and the hum of a few insects,—small gnats, etc.—and see considerable growth and greenness. Though it is still windy, there is, nevertheless, a certain serenity and long-lifeness in the air, as if it were a habitable place and not merely to be hurried through. The noon of the year is approaching. Nature seems meditating a siesta.
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Thoreau's journal entry draws close parallels to his "Sounds" chapter in Walden. Nature is "meditating," and we ,as readers, are given the opportunity to experience the sights, sounds, and smells of summer. We "hear the hum of a few insects," we "see considerable..greenness," and we "smell the very dry leaves." I, too, am beginning to feel summer on this pleasant spring evening. Unlike Thoreau, though, I associate summer with loud lawnmowers, trips to the local swimming pool, and major traffic jams on our local highways. It is difficult to appreciate the natural beauty of summertime when our world has been muffled by loud noises and interruptions. It is important for everyone to find a quiet place and see, hear, and smell summer. Instead of smelling chlorine and sunblock, we should smell the leaves and the fresh cut grass. Instead of looking out onto miles of highway traffic, we should look out onto miles of rolling hills. We must find our serenity--nature is "meditating a siesta."
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