This is not Thoreau’s cabin—its Deb’s. Hers was framed in oak by Hardwick Post & Beam and has electricity, a loft, earth-tone floor tiles, lots of light, and more space than the 19th century philosopher’s rustic dwelling on Walden Pond.
Also, it’s not her home, but a daily retreat where she writes and often sleeps, only a few hundred feet behind her house. But Deb too sited her cabin on a pond. While her pond is much smaller than Walden, she enjoys awakening to the view across the water, which was frozen and snow-covered when these photos were taken.
Just outside the door, a tiny stone man bows to visitors. Inside, in handsome calligraphy on one of the white plaster walls, is a line of poetry from Maya Angelou. A throw pillow offers this message in needlepoint: “My goal in life is to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am.” (Thoreau’s cabin brought him fame, but Deb may be having more fun.)
Thoreau said, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.”
How do you imagine your timber frame retreat?
