Like a baton in the hand of a symphony maestro, a paddle in hand opens up doors of opportunity. Each outing provides a wide range of possibilities. Will it be an outing remembered for birds and animals, flowers photographed, berries picked, invigorating swims, or meaningful spousal dialogue?

We arrived at Manhanock Pond in Sangerville dismayed to be greeted by a stiffening westerly wind and sun giving way to building clouds. So much for a forecast of sun and calm. Little did we suspect that those changes in weather would provide the opportunity to enjoy three hours of spectacular sky mosaics as cumulous clouds and wispy gray veils of showers danced around openings of brilliant blue. It was a classic northern sky, with sun and shadow battling for dominance.

Manhanock features a number of secluded arms and coves to explore, offering protection on a windy day. Despite a stiff wind we were sheltered much of the way down to the western end of the pond where it is bounded by the gravel Harlow Pond Road. On a calmer day we would have carried our canoe over the causeway and explored the smaller Harlow Pond, but decided to leave that for another visit. A large group of barn swallows darted about the power lines adjacent to the road.

Most of the cottages are on the western portion of the pond. The eastern half features many stands of larch trees, their new needles a soothing creamy green. Many of the larches are mature, larger than the majority found on Maine lakes and ponds. Cedars lean out over the water with a dense row providing a dry natural shelter as we waited out a fast-moving squall under the thick roof of branches. Crouched in our canoe we marveled at the mesmerizing dimples of droplets pelting the pond; the wonderful sound of water bouncing off water, and gray water absorbing millions of white drops.

An old cedar stump is also making way for some new growth. Christine Wolfe photo

Manhanock Pond is shallow, making it perfect for paddlers looking for seclusion. Any motorized boats will have to stay out in the middle and proceed slowly due to the array of stumps and branches sticking up out of the water. Bleached white stumps provided many photographic stops. One large cedar stump had a mini-forest of new cedars growing up out of its top. Life is tenacious. Sun, organic matter, and water bring forth life.

Rhodora blooms along the shore are sprouting up. Christine Wolfe photo

May is a dynamic month to be out on the water. Everything is blooming. Manhanock is lined with the conspicuous tiny white urn-shaped flowers of leatherleaf. The red cups of pitcher plants were just starting to emerge out of the sphagnum moss. Flashes of pink caught our attention; the umbrella-shaped flowers of bog laurel, and the delicate curls of rhodora. Poet Ralph Waldo Emerson shared his love of a spring day in his 1834 poem, The Rhodora. Lines 11 and 12 are beautiful;

Tell them dear, that, if eyes were made for seeing
Then beauty is its own excuse for Being;

We saw a number of turtles resting on logs, sliding into the water as we approached. A flash of white above us caught our eye, and sure enough a bald eagle was circling in the breeze. Mallards and common mergansers fed in the shallows. Solitary sandpipers flitted along the shoreline. A loon watched us sky-gazing our way back toward our starting point.

Consult the Delorme Maine Atlas and Gazetteer (map No. 31) for help in getting to the boat launch at Veteran’s Park in Sangerville just west of Route 23. You will be paddling in the only Maine town laying claim to be the home of two knights: Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of the machine gun, and Sir Harry Oakes, who in 1911 discovered what would become the largest gold mine in North America. The drive north from Newport is scenic, starting with the rows of white-blossomed apple trees at Rowe’s Orchard and then on to the stately Corinna Library with its slender clock tower, and the eye-catching color scheme of the Wayside Theater in Dexter.

Michael Perry is the former director of the L.L.Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools, and founder of Dreams Unlimited, specializing in inspiring outdoor slide programs for civic groups, businesses, and schools. Contact: michaelj_perry@comcast.net

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