I went hiking in the Lucius Pond Ordway/Devil’s Den Preserve in Weston Friday and, for the first time, I understood the inspiration for the naturalists and poets from New England. It was such a breezy day, with the sun lightly but steadily pressing through the shade just enough to remind me that it was summer, and with enough recent rain that the loamy smell of freshly churned earth still made it feel sufficiently like the woods.
In my mind, Connecticut consisted only of well-groomed suburbs. New England is really lucky in that industrial development happened here early in the country’s history and impressed upon its citizenry the importance of preserving open space. I grew up in Arkansas, where everyone’s backyard looks like the preserve; natural and overgrown and richly green. But because every backyard looks so lusciously untouched, Arkansans can take such views for granted. Heavy development in the northwestern part of the state has affected even my tiny hometown, which now has a stoplight on its widened highway.
All I can think about is my next hike, and to that end, our industrious and outdoor-loving web editor Jon Lucas lent me “50 Hikes in Connecticut: From the Berkshires to the Coast,” by David, Gerry and Sue Hardy. The fourth edition already looks like a good resource.
