Tank tops, flip-flops, barbecues and picnics -- add Nathan's Garden to the list of things to look forward to this spring.
Although it is now a shadowed valley covered by five inches of snow, during the sunny months the garden is filled with golden retrievers catching frisbees, children enjoying the swings, and people of all ages relishing the solitude of the woods.
Located at the intersection of Maple Street and Downing Road, Nathan's Garden is a quiet park with birdhouses, a swing, a sandbox and rustic chairs clumped around the base of trees.
A curved wooden staircase connects the main part of the park to a comfortable gazebo.
In warm weather, journal books are placed on the wooden tables in the gazebo, in which the park's visitors scrawl comments about their experiences. Many wax poetic.
Bottles of suntan lotion and insect repellent are also kept in the gazebos for the convenience of the park's visitors.
An empty hollow, designated with a wooden sign as an "Elves' Village" has led fanciful visitors to speculate about unseen sprites and dwarves that dwell there.
Accordingly, Zac Leghorn '04, an occasional visitor of the garden, remembers that the park struck him as "something taken out of a storybook" the first time he visited.
This wooded oasis was established by the Hall family as a tribute to their son.
The Halls dedicated a corner of their land to Nathan Hall after his untimely death.
Nathan Hall died in 1991 at the age of 20 while swimming in a quarry, according to Krista Brown.
Brown, who is eight years old, described the activities that take place in the park.
"Little kids sometimes swing in the swings, and there's neighborhood parties here," Brown said.
A group of 13-year-olds also reported attending the neighborhood parties.
"It's a very nice donation that the Halls made," Arthur Kantrowitz, a neighbor of the Halls, said.
The Halls constructed the park out of their own backyard.
In the summer months, the noise from the park's visitors drifts up to the old, ivy-covered house. During this unseasonably snowy April, the only visitors yesterday were a runner using the garden as a shortcut and two young women walking dogs.
Although they are Dartmouth seniors, it was their first visit to the park.
"We passed it a lot this summer," Sarah Hong '03 said.
"It's nice because it's a kind of hidden place," noted Juliana Sasaki'03.
The park is home to a number of shade trees,which form a canopy over the square of grass at the center.
With the green streak of grass above the steam tunnel path already visible on the Green, perhaps Nathan's Garden will soon be filled with visitors.
Perhaps they'll bring dates there for champagne and strawberries in the shade.
Or perhaps they'll collapse into the grass, stare up into the clouds, and eventually enjoy a pleasant summer's nap.
