Hello all - My apologies for not blogging over the past month. I have been completing final edits on my book which will be published at the end of June. It is a compilation of selected entries and photos from the past two years. It will be made available for purchase in stores throughout Concord, Massachusetts also on Amazon.com and here on my site. Thanks for your encouragement and loyal readership over the past two years. Above is a preview of the Cover.

I was out on Walden Street in Concord yesterday and noticed a distinct difference in the tenor and energy of the people out on the streets. There was more interaction than I’d seen since the holidays accompanied by a leisurely stride that can only signify winter is indeed behind us. Absent was the head down, collar up, determined walk toward ones next retreat from the cold.

Window shopping is particularly gratifying in Concord. Each storefront is so individual, the wares of the various stores spills out onto the sidewalks as does the wholly unique character of each of the shops and its owners. Today’s picture is of Thoreauly Antiques one of Concord’s several excellent antiques shops. Although there are people who comes from long distances specifically to find a treasure of sorts, Thoreauly Antiques is equally compelling to the person who is just crossing its path by chance, as was the case with me. Something caught my eye from the sidewalk display, I hesitated to venture in as this was not something I had intended to or typically seek out. But after choosing to give it a go, I could not have been greeted by a kinder professional. A women of age and experience was welcoming and informative and just the type of person you might envision in a place whose walls are lined with fascinating pieces from the past. I immediately became intrigued, picturing perhaps an Antiques Roadshow type of find in just such an establishment. However, time was short, as I was suppose to be heading in an entirely difference direction. I hurried off, sidewalk item in tow, musing about its potentially hidden origins.

As you can see in today’s passage, Concord and Boston are to your left. On many of the original roadways in New England stand granite markers. Before GPS and before Michelin Maps, there were clear, concise postings consisting of an arrow and the destination where the arrow would take you. They dot the landscape of roads that were once travelled on horseback or in carriage. This was a time where Yankee or perhaps Puritan sensibilities were still dominant and signs either on rock or post were purposeful and brief. If the road led from Carlisle into Concord it was named Concord Road. If it was in Carlisle heading toward Acton, it was named Acton Road…where this photo was taken. Adjective-driven names were not preferred in early New England. Patch Meadow Lane and Oak Knoll Road were for a later time.

There is something exciting about seeing a Sugar Maple tapped for sap collection. It is irrefutable proof that Spring is coming. The Towle Land (pronounced Toll) where this particular tree resides is a combination of woodland, streams and open fields, spanning over 100 acres set aside for conservation. It is used frequently for cross-country, hiking and birdwatching. Towle abuts a major road and one can get a quick feel for its beauty looking out the car window, but it only reveals it whole nature to those who take the time to explore by foot or ski.

The trails are extensive and very well maintained, small wooden bridges completely in keeping with their surroundings dot the frequent streams beds. And it’s my understanding, there is even a rather obscure cow tunnel that connects two sides of the protected lands. Used in the early part of the last century, it allowed for a cow and rather nimble farmer to pass through onto what is now the Towle lands, for grazing. If you’re in a mood to explore, you can attempt to locate this architectural curiosity. It is crafted entirely of large stones, stands perhaps four feet tall and was built under Route 225 sometime around 1914. It opens onto the Towle Conservation Land.

This is the ancestral land of the Buttricks dating back to the mid-1600s with the arrival of William Buttrick one of the original settlers of Musketaquid (Concord). The family name was made famous by a fourth generation Buttrick, Major John Buttrick who led the militia to meet the British at the North Bridge in 1775. This home sits atop what is now Minuteman National Park, at the peak of a slope. As founding members of Concord, the original parcel was over 200 acres. The Buttricks maintained much of the lands including the homestead through most of the 20th century.

In the 1930s, a series of magnificent gardens were carved out of the land by John Buttrick’s, great, great grandson, Stedman Buttrick atop the rivers edge near the original farm pictured above. These became world-class estate gardens and today you can walk through them, well worth your time especially in early spring. However, one must only imagine now the feast for the eyes they once brought forth. Evidently, horticulturists from far-flung regions would come annually to see the irises and columbine that dotted the landscape. The gardens themselves were maintained by generations of the Buttrick family until well into the latter half of the 20th century. I learned this bit of history that is completely omitted at the Visitors Center at MNP on Concord’s community website, Concordma.com.

While I regret not having the chance to see the entire estate in its former glory, neither the panorama nor history of the place is overshadowed by the limitations a National Park must sometimes operate under. Although they were not able to invest in all aspects of the estate, much of the architecture and artifacts are preserved and the history, celebrated. But, perhaps a better model for preservation may be coming with the complete and careful renovations of Henry David Thoreau’s Birthplace and Major John Barrett’s home, now well underway here in Concord.