Early March the days are warmer although the world outside is still coated in snow and ice. I am already dreaming of warm summer days with clients. Perhaps on a nature exploration 
canoe trip like this one!
First thing in the morning and the surface of the pond is still, perfectly reflecting the trees that line the shore like a mirror. It is a warm morning with a damp fog that is already wearing through with patches of blue sky above. This tells me that the day will be warm with a sea breeze in the afternoon, the typical summer day in mid coast Maine. Out on the surface of the pond a hundred yards or so away a loon dives for fish watching me out of one wary eye as I unload canoes from the trailer for a morning canoe trip. This is the beginning of a family trip; none of them have ever been in a canoe before so it will be a new experience for the entire family (unless you count the summer spent at camp when the adults were ten). We will be traveling for only a few hours; I am along to show them how to paddle a canoe and to explain what there is to see and notice in this quiet corner of the world.
When the family arrives the kids are excited, I learn that they are planning to paddle their own canoe but at 8 and 10 it might be a challenge. After fitting everyone with life vests and paddles then giving a brief dry land lesson on how to paddle a canoe with a few basic safety tips we are off. The kids (a boy and girl) are able to paddle together and control the canoe although there is some disagreement about who is doing most of the work. The parents are also doing well but having a little trouble figuring out exactly how to keep the canoe traveling in a straight line, I am sure that they will be paddling like pros after a few minutes.
As we pass under the bridge and leave the road behind; the rest of the modern world seems to melt into the distance. The only sounds that we can hear are the slight breeze in the trees and the calls of many birds. It is amazing to think that in the late 1800’s nearly all of the surrounding land was cleared with only a few trees left. This countryside is not the unbroken forest of the far north but an agricultural region with pleasant views of farms and hillside blueberry barrens although forest comes down to the water’s edge most everywhere.
We paddle up the river for a short while and come along side of a flock of young ducks, not the cute young ducklings of spring but adolescents with enough curiosity to swim out toward us. My clients are handling their canoes very well and we are making good progress. We soon enter a second pond that offers wide views of the surrounding hills and country. Overhead an osprey is hovering looking for fish and across the pond a flock of geese sounds the alarm that we have arrived. We stop to visit a beaver lodge where I take few minutes and briefly explain about beavers what they eat and how they store food for the winter, the highlight for the kids is getting to take home a stick that the beavers have peeled of bark.
The kids are tiring; there is an increase in discussion about who is doing the most paddling so we stop for a rest and a chance to get out of the canoes and stretch. We all sit in the shade; have a snack and something to drink. In minutes the kids are exploring the surrounding area; I get out critter dipping tools (kitchen strainers on long handles) briefly explain what they are for and demonstrate how to use them. In minutes there are a bunch of small creatures in a bucket. Many of them have amazing life stories that are not interesting enough to slow the kids from dipping more. When the excitement dies down we return the critters to the water and get back into the canoes for the return to our starting point. It does not seem possible that the morning has gone by; time definitely flies when you are having fun.
Our return trip is uneventful with the entire family now paddling their canoes like pros. When we reach the boat launch the kids are quickly out of the boat and up in the parking lot with their beaver peeled sticks in hand life jackets still on. The parents gather up the spare clothes, take a few last pictures before loading the kids into the van and driving off to lunch. I am sure they are delighted to have been on an adventure to a less traveled part of Maine’s Coast.
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