Weekend Excursion

Henry David Thoreau once said, "Things do not change; we change." And sure enough, more than 150 years after Thoreau told the world what he thought of it from his self-imposed exile on the banks of Walden Pond, New England-based nature writers have abandoned the go-it-alone tactics of their transcendentalist predecessors. This weekend, they're getting together to put on a festival.

For two days, nature writers and their readers will gather at Faneuil Hall and the New England Aquarium in Boston for dialogues, discussions, book readings, and book signings at the 6th Annual Environmental Writers Festival.

To kick it all off, Pulitzer Prize winner and Harvard professor E.O. Wilson and nature writers David Abram and John Elder will discuss "The Power of Reason and the Spell of the Sensuous: Writing the Environmental Future." Abram's work focuses on the ecological depths of perception and language and how they shape ethical relationships between humans and the earth. Elder, an English and environmental studies professor at Middlebury College, has special interests in American nature writing, the Japanese haiku tradition, and romantic and contemporary poetry. Sunday hosts a full festival day with required registration.

For nature lovers who would rather experience the great outdoors than write about them, Bishop's Orchards in Guilford, Conn., have announced that their Macoun, McIntosh, Cortland, and Empire apples, among others, are ready for picking. Named the Best Pick-Your-Own Farm in Connecticut Magazine's Best of Connecticut 2001, the Bishop's Orchards have apple picking every Saturday and Sunday as well as a daily farm market featuring tomatoes, corn, and raspberries. The farm also features a pumpkin patch and hay maze for children and inner children. —Katherine Hill

The New England Aquarium is located at the Central Wharf, Boston, Mass. For more information about the Environmental Writers' Festival, call (617) 973-5279 or e-mail Ken Malloy at kmalloy@neaq.org. Bishop's Orchards are located at 1355 Boston Post Rd., Guilford, Conn. The farm market is open Mon.-Sat., 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. For more information on Bishop's Orchards' Pick-Your-Own crops, call 458-PICK.

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