Today is Wednesday and that means my three grandchildren, ages 5, 7 and 9 years, will join me for the day. We have our plans and at the top of the list is a trip to Woodchuck Lodge and The Boyhood Rock which marks the gravesite of John Burroughs. In the past twelve months we have visited eleven times missing only the month of February.

First we have to decide whether we should park at the path to the Boyhood Rock, read the sign and look at the photos of John and his family and friends and walk down to the lodge or park at the lodge and walk up to the rock. Whichever we decide we avoid the road and walk through the fields because “That’s what John Burroughs would have done,” says 7-year-old Laura.

In March we marvel at the snow drops that are planted around the lodge pushing up through the snow. Next come the daffodils which have spread across the road into the field. Pretty soon we will eat all the blackberries that the bears leave behind. In the fall we make piles of leaves to jump in. In the winter we slide down the hill on our bottoms. Sometimes we just sit on the lawn and read and enjoy the beautiful view. We sign the visitor’s book and look to see where others came from.

At the lodge we try to peek in the windows. Last month we had a tour and they will never forget it. We cannot wait to go back again. Maybe we will see you there.

Woodchuck Lodge, the summer home of naturalist John Burroughs from 1910-20, is located on Hardscrabble Road in Roxbury (follow the signs off Route 30 north of Roxbury). Free tours are offered the first weekend of the month through October, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.