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Toddy Pond Association
Newsletter
Spring 2011
Issue 26
Our Mission
We believe that we have a responsibility to protect Toddy Pond and its watershed so that we and future generations
may enjoy its beauty and the recreational opportunities it provides. Our objective is to protect the air, water, soil,
plant and animal life of the watershed and to preserve its economic, ecological and aesthetic value by encouraging
responsible land and water use.
President's Message
Donna Foster
Happy Spring! Winter on Toddy Pond delivered many feet
of snow. Often in early to mid-January the ice was unsafe
due to rain and slush coverings, preventing ice activities. In
February, however, at least two fishing derbies were successfully held. Ice went out on about April 13.
One of our fall/winter projects was to begin a membership campaign by sending postcards to non-member Toddy
Pond property owners to inform them of the Toddy Pond
Association and provide some information about our activities. A second postcard was sent to this group in mid-May,
inviting them to a BBQ in late June (see the article below).
In this informal, meet-and-greet atmosphere, we hope to
tell them more about our association and encourage them
to join us. Current members are also invited. If you have a
neighbor who is not yet a member, please invite them also.
This will also be a place for current members to reconnect,
make new acquaintances, and get up-to-date information
about the many events planned for this summer.
I’d like to thank all of our members for their support,
and to send a big WELCOME to our new members. We
look forward to sharing ideas and working with you to
develop our programs and projects. Please remember that
TPA's board members are available for your comments,
questions, or suggestions. You'll find a listing of board
members and project coordinators on the last page of this
newsletter. Let them hear from you!.
There are exciting activities planned for this summer,
and we hope that you will be able to participate with us.
TPA Annual Meeting
The TPA annual meeting will be held at the Blue Hill
Consolidated School on July 19. A potluck supper at 6:00
pm will be followed by a business meeting at 7:00 and a
presentation on an environmental topic yet to be determined (watch toddypond.org for an announcement).
As always, friends and neighbors are welcome..
June 22 — Invasive Plant Patrol Workshop
At MERI in Blue Hill, 1:00 pm. See the article on page 3.
June 26 — Hail to Summer BBQ
Balsam Cove Campground pavilion, 4:00–7:00 pm. See
below.
July 16 — Toddy Pond Loon Count
7:30–8:00 am. See the article on page 3.
July 19 — TPA Annual Potluck and Business Meeting
Blue Hill Consolidated School, 6:00 pm.
August 21 — Invasive Plant Patrol Workshop
Toddy Pond public boat landing, 8:00 am. See the article
on page 3..
TPA Hail to Summer BBQ
On June 26 the Toddy Pond Association will celebrate the
season at the first annual Hail to Summer Barbecue. TPA
members and their families are invited, and are urged to extend the invitation to neighbors who are not yet members.
(Many of them will already have received an invitation as
part of our outreach effort, but ask them anyway!)
The operators of the Balsam Cove Campground on First
Toddy, Joe and Michelle Letts, have generously offered
their pavilion for this event. To get there, take the Back
Ridge Road (south from where it meets Route 1 just west
of the dam, or north from Route 15 near the intersection
with 199) to Balsam Cove Road.
Festivities will be ongoing from 4:00–7:00 pm, and
there are no formalities whatsoever, so folks may drop in
when it suits them.
TPA will provide barbecued chicken, sides, and soft
drinks. If you would like to bring something to share feel
free to do so, but it's not required. We'll have plenty.
To help us plan, please let us know if you will be coming
and how many people you'll be bringing. You can send an
email to [email protected], or phone Keith or Donna
at 667-1319.
The Toddy Pond Association Newsletter is printed on recycled paper using non-toxic, vegetable inks.
A Million-Dollar Challenge
Marking Toddy's Hazards Phil Tardif
“Seven groups get $500,000 to test suction harvesters,
light-blocking mats, and other milfoil-fighting methods.”
According to a Sept. 1, 2010 article in the Portland Press
Herald, Sebago Lake is desperately battling milfoil with a
harvester and other devices. When milfoil was discovered
in Little Sebago lake, its association spent $100,000 to start
its milfoil control program. Annually, Little Sebago Lake
Association has budgeted $30,000–$40,000 to keep their
cove clear of milfoil. Other lake associations are spending
thousands of dollars in an often futile attempt to control and
eradicate invasive aquatic plants. Property values in infected ponds have decreased. Swimming, fishing, and boating
have all been affected by the thick matting of plants near
the shoreline. Eradication is next to impossible. Invasive
aquatic plants are a serious and expensive problem.
Thirty-three ponds and lakes in Maine are currently waging this expensive war. Messalonskee Lake and Stream,
Damariscotta Lake, Salmon Pond in the Belgrade area,
Sebago Lake, and Cobbossee Stream all have invasive
plants. Toddy Pond and other lakes are extremely vulnerable; a plant fragment on fishing tackle, a motor, or boat
trailer can spell disaster to our pond. Once introduced, these
plants multiply quickly in shallow, warm waters. Because
our pond has such shallow waters, it offers a perfect breeding
ground for hydrilla, variable leaf milfoil, and other plants.
Toddy Pond is an inviting host to these insidious plants.
In recent years TPA volunteer boat inspectors have given many hours to the crucial effort to prevent an invasion,
but the supply of volunteers has fallen short of the need.
Recognizing the importance of this effort, the Toddy Pond
Association directors has voted to hire a boat inspector to
work Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays during the months
of July and August. We will also attempt to schedule volunteers to cover Wednesdays and Thursdays, giving a total of
five days of inspections at the Route 1 boat landing.
This is a costly undertaking for our small organization,
requiring the dedication of nearly all our dues income for
the current year. To meet this challenge we will be asking
for donations and a dues increase for next year. Our campaign to increase our membership — only about one quarter
of lakeshore property owners are members — is also important. These are big challenges, but failure to meet them now
could result in a staggering challenge in the future.
To volunteer for weekday inspections in July and August,
contact me (Phil Tardiff), at 469-0784
Keith R. Heavrin, Jr
On March 3rd we received a phone call from Mr Timothy
Thurston, who works in the Maine Department of
Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Land, Boating Facilities
Divison, in Augusta. Among the projects his office conducts
is navigation hazard surveys and marking in Maine waters.
Mr Thurston explained that his department has funds available, probably this year only, to do comprehensive surveys
of as many Maine lakes as they can schedule, then to provide and install navigation markers for those hazards they
identify within navigable waters.
Navigable waters are those waters 200 feet or more from
shore. The official markers are well-anchored buoys, nine
inches in diameter, standing thirty-six inches above the water, They are of several different designations: for hazards,
navigation channels, and speed control. The markers would
be maintained annually by the Department after installation. There will be no costs for the survey, the buoys, or the
maintenance afterwards. We will incur no legal liability for
any part of this project now or into the future.
Feedback needed
Mr Thurston said his department seeks out the representatives of local lake associations as a channel for feedback:
"Before we move ahead with marking a water body, we
like to know the interests and concerns of the residents of
the lake." They have currently surveyed and maintain navigation markers in more than thirty Maine lakes.
The Toddy Pond Association board of directors considered this offer and responded positively. The next step is to
gather feedback from our pond's residents and to relay our
feedback to the Boating Facilities Division as they proceed
with the survey. After the survey is completed by two DOC
boats and their crews, we will receive a report detailing
their survey findings and a representative from the Boating
Facilities Division will meet with us to discuss recommendations.
Board discussion so far has included whether such hazard
markings would encourage speeding boats. The consensus
on this issue was that those boaters who speed imprudently
will do so regardless. We hope to make our waters safer
for the families and majority of recreational boaters. Also
discussed were incidents where current markers have been
BOAT INSPECTOR WANTED
The Toddy Pond Association seeks to hire a person to
inspect boats for invasive plants at the public launch in
Orland on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in July and
August. Hours will be 8:00 am to 3:00 pm and pay will
be $10/hour. No experience is necessary; training will
be provided. The position requires someone with good
communication skills who can relate comfortably with
boaters. Applicants should contact Jeff Smith at 469-3557.
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vandalized or removed from the places they mark. Another
concern expressed is that because the markers must remain
in place year round they might pose a hazard to snowmobilers in winter. That danger has been minimized on other
lakes that have hazard markings by communicating with
local snowmobile clubs, ice fishermen, and residents, as
well as placing signs at lake access points, advising the
public of the presence of the buoys.
Our hope is that by all of us working together, our efforts
can take advantage of beneficial opportunities such as this
when they come along. Right now we need to hear your
comments and concerns. Please contact me or one of the
representatives for your pond. You can contact me at keith.
[email protected] or 207-667-1319.
Floating Loon Nests
on Toddy Pond, networking with experienced loon observers on the pond to determine where to place these first nest
opportunities. One platform is located in the beaver flowage
in the southwest quadrant of Second Toddy; the other is in
the cove in the northeast corner of Second Toddy. Success
with these floating nest sites will lead to a possible addition
of more next year.
Invasive Plant Patrol
Bob LeVine
This summer, Toddy Pond’s Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) has
a greater chance than ever to become effective in protecting
our shoreline through early detection. The new conditions
include:
Training
workshops for volunteers old and new, will be
held by the State’s Voluntary Lake Monitoring Program,
in Blue Hill (at the Marine Environmental Research
Institute, MERI, on the main street of Blue Hill, at
1 p.m.) on June 22, and on Toddy Pond itself (at the
public boat access in Orland, at 8:00 a.m.) on August 21.
Attendance at one of these workshops offers the chance
to be certified as a trained IPP Volunteer. (Branch Lake
has 30 certified volunteers; we don’t have any — yet.)
Keith R. Heavrin, Jr
In the middle of the 2009 loon nesting season on Toddy
Pond, these magnificent birds experienced a disaster. A
very rainy few days toward the last week of the egg incubation period caused the waters of Toddy Pond to rise about
eighteen inches. That rise flooded nests and killed the eggs
of a lot of our loons. Unfortunately, loons often choose nest
sites that are vulnerable to a rise in water level. Those nests
in the floating islands, which rise and fall with the water
level, were unaffected.
The Toddy Pond Association decided to explore the
possibility of constructing and placing floating loon nest
platforms. Research indicates that the success rate of these
low visual impact, natural looking nest sites is very high.
The floating platforms are of log or cedar slab construction,
six feet square and covered with mosses and vegetation to
appear natural. Under the wire netting that supports the
covering of mosses and grasses are slabs of flotation foam,
sliced to be low-profile. Some branches are placed around
the outside perimeter to provide cover. This has proven an
effective deterrent to eagle predation. Signage on the platforms warns curious humans to keep their distance.
We’ll
be able to build on last year’s strong performance,
which included ten IPP volunteers inspecting the
shoreline and submitting forms forwarded to the Maine
Center for Invasive Aquatic Plants, Rob Giffin’s building
a glass-bottomed boat for use in these inspections, and
the creation of a visual online inventory of common
weeds on our shoreline (to help us identify an invader
when we see one).
The
TPA annual meeting will be held earlier this year,
so we’ll be able to recruit new members for IPP at the
meeting, and with an IPP Field Workshop on Toddy
Pond on August 21st, they’ll be able to get trained in
time to participate in the annual survey soon afterwards.
Increasing the number of our trained volunteers,
especially for First Toddy, is a major objective.
Anyone who is interested in plant patrolling in 2011 —
it’s fun and instructive as well as protecting Toddy Pond
— should get in touch with me (Bob LeVine) at levine68@
gmail.com or (after June 10th) at (207) 667-1293. There
will be a kick-off meeting at my house late in June or early
July.
The Common Loon
Ginger Doyle
Why do we care so much about common loons? True to
their name, they are fairly common in Maine, nesting on
many of our lakes in the summer, and spending the winter
in the frigid waters off-shore. They are so much a part of
our Maine outdoor heritage that we may forget how unique
and special they are. After all, Maine is the only state in the
northeast with such a robust and apparently healthy loon
population.
Just before the 2011 loon nesting season, Keith Heavrin
and Rob Giffin built and placed two new floating loon nests
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Watershed Survey
But this is exactly why we do care about loons, and why
loons have made such a compelling species of wildlife to
study over the last 27 years of Maine Audubon’s Annual
Loon Count. A healthy loon population is indicative of
clean water, vigorous fish populations, high-quality wetlands, and a healthy lake ecosystem. Reasonable regulations that have protected shoreland zones, reduced road
runoff, and maintained high water quality have paid off in
making our lakes healthy places for loons, as well as for
people.
The 2010 Loon Count took place on a near-perfect
Saturday morning last July. On the morning of the July 17,
2010 count, Toddy Pond Volunteer Loon Counters counted
22 adults, 1 chick and 4 nests. However, a comment was
added to the report submitted to Maine Audubon stating
four chicks were seen on a regular basis after the July 17th
count throughout the month of August. We are in the process of having two loon nesting structures built and placed
on the pond for the 2011 summer season in the hopes they
will keep our nesting pairs interested in setting up home on
Toddy.
The loon population in Maine has been growing steadily
for the last couple of years, and the 2010 count showed that
trend continuing, with an estimate of 3,220 adults in the
southern half of the state (roughly south of the line from
Rangeley to Calais). This is the highest number of adult
loons ever estimated in the 27-year history of the count,
and that’s great news, especially in light of the dip in loon
numbers evident in the mid- to late-nineties. It appears our
loon population has officially “recovered” and is doing better than ever. The estimate for the chick population wasn’t
quite as high. The 2010 estimate was 283 chicks, which is
just about average (the low chick count was 141 in 2006,
and the high was 440 in 2007). (Information excerpted
from the Winter 2010-2011 issue of Habitat, published by
Maine Audubon. Information on the 2010 summary for the
whole state is available at http://www.maineaudubon.org/
conserve/loon/index.shtml.)
Last year our volunteers were Jane and Jerry Armstrong,
Ginger and Paul Doyle, Linda Ellison (with friends and
family), Donna Foster and Keith Heavrin Jr, Dwight
Gates, Bob Jones, Arn Krugman, Bob and Sarah LeVine,
Betty Ring, Fred Shair, and Terry Swazey (with friends
and family).
Chris Dadian
The TPA is supporting an application from the Hancock
County Soil & Water Conservation District to the Maine
Department of Environmental Protection for a grant to conduct a survey of the Toddy Pond Watershed.
The purpose of the survey is to identify sources of soil
erosion that may be polluting the ponds. A completed watershed survey provides the basis for remediation projects.
If the grant is approved, volunteers would be trained next
spring and would conduct the survey in May and June.
We are also looking into the Watershed Stewards
Program, an educational resource offered by the University
of Maine Cooperative Extension that covers many of the
factors affecting the health of our lake, including invasive
aquatic plant and animal species, camp roads, shoreland
zoning, lakefront buffers, etc.
We hope to have representatives from the Hancock
County Soil & Water Conservation District and the
Extension at the annual meeting to describe these programs
and answer questions.
Look for an update and in-depth information in the fall
issue of the Toddy Pond Newsletter.
TPA Membership
Nancy Lord
In 2010 we increased our membership to 104 members,
nine of them new families. We are hoping to expand our
membership further in 2011. Let’s make this a “banner
year.”
During the winter, a committee worked on an outreach
campaign to the many Toddy Pond residents who are
not members. The committee consisted of myself, Chris
Dadian, Donna Foster, Rob and Maureen Giffin, Keith
Heavrin, Jeff Smith, and Phil Tardif.
We compiled a mailing list from tax rolls we obtained
from the four towns, including approximately 280 names.
In February we sent a postcard to this list describing some
of the association’s activities and inviting those interested
to contact us. We received several reponses to that mailing.
In May we sent a second postcard, inviting all to a barbecue
to be held on June 26, at the Balsam Cove Campround (see
the announcement above for details). We hope that current
members will also attend and help us meet and greet our
neighbors and, hopefully, persuade many of them to join
our organization.
For this year Ruthanne Brown, Chris Dadian and Nina
Davis, and Ed and Ramune Dalide have signed on.
The 2011 Loon Count will take place on July
16th, from 7:30 to 8:00 am. We are looking for additional
volunteers to help with the count. Our volunteer have large
areas to count in the half hour allowed and we would like
to divide up the areas with additional helpers. If you would
like to help us out, please contact me (Ginger Doyle) at
207-479-2195. No previous experience is required and the
count will take less than an hour of your time.
Where Does the Money Go?
Linda Jellison
Have you ever wondered why the TPA collects annual
membership dues and how that money is being managed
and spent? Membership money is used in several ways. One of our major expenses is our biannual newsletter,
including printing and postage. We feel these newsletters
are a valuable way to get information out to camp own-
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The Value of Membership or,
Why Be a Member? ers and friends of Toddy Pond to keep them informed and
up-to-date on such things as invasive plants, water levels,
water quality, pesticides, and upcoming events and meeting. We also include contact information of all the officers,
board of directors, and project coordinators in order that
members have someone they can reach with concerns,
questions, and/or information.
The Toddy Pond Association itself pays membership
dues, to the Coalition of Lakes Association. COLA keeps
member lake associations informed as to the latest information in water quality testing and up-to-date information
on invasive plants, etc. Each year we try to send several of
our board members to their informative annual meeting.
Expenses related to plant identification information,
such as brochures, training, etc. has been fairly minor, but
we are aware that if we ever discover invasive plants in our
lovely pond we very quickly will incur major expenses so
we really need to educate boat owners and try to do boat
inspections as much as possible. Up until this season we
had been trying to recruit enough volunteers to do boat inspections. However, starting this season, the TPA has found
it necessary to hire a boat inspector for the summer weekends at the boat landing on First Toddy to check boats and
motors for any plant residue and help educate boat owners
about the importance of cleaning their boats and motors
when taking them from one lake to another so as not to
transfer plant life from one lake to another. This will cost us
an additional $1,900 this year, an amount that by itself represents more than two-thirds of our total income for 2010..
Sometimes we also incur some additional expenses in
connection with our annual meeting. To help with fund
raising we are selling sweatshirts, t-shirts, and caps with
our loon logo. You can see samples of these for sale at our
annual meeting.
This year the TPA initiated a membership campaign to
try and increase membership. We have had two postcard
mailings to camp owners who are currently not TPA members and we are planning a BBQ in June for new members
to get acquainted with our organization. We expect that
these mailings and BBQ will prove be a very worthwhile
investment.
Much of what we accomplish as a group involves volunteer labor and donated materials (loon platforms, glassbottomed canoe, loon survey, boat inspections, plant patrol,
newsletter editing, water testing, etc.). Because of this, until now revenues — almost all from dues — have been adequate, and have even allowed us to build a small reserve to
use for projects like the membership initiative. But adding
the cost of paying a boat inspector, which will be an annually recurring item, our expenses will be more than our revenues in this and coming years. The board will most likely
ask for a dues increase at the annual meeting in July.
Hopefully this information will give you a better idea of
how your Toddy Pond Association membership dues are
used to help keep our lake clean and healthy for generations to come.
Donna Foster
As we engage in an outreach project to connect with Toddy
Pond property owners the question, "Why should I be a
member?" is likely one of the first questions a person may
ask oneself. Membership develops a shared appreciation of
a common set of values along with a passionate desire to
work together to keep Toddy Pond a place of beauty and
fond memories into the future. As groups work together on
common goals and projects, friendships are created. This
can become important for generations to come.
Good stewards are caretakers, caring for the pond, it’s
wildlife, it’s aquatic life, so that it may be enjoyed for a
long long time. These are the activities that make membership meaningful in the Toddy Pond Association.
Make the most of your membership. Celebrate the pond
and all it has to offer. Please consider joining us! Do it now!
Operators are standing by.
Toddy Pond Fashion
Nancy Lord
We still have many t-shirts in different sizes and many colors and a few sweatshirts. This year we are also offering
hats with our loon logo. The loon is embroidered and very
attractive.
These items will be available at the barbecue and at the
annual meeting. To can also purchase or order by calling
me (Nancy Lord) at 207-469-2188.
TPA Website News
Donna Foster
There's a new addition to toddypond.org! We now have
a Classified tab on the home page where members can list
cottage/home offerings for rent, and where visitors can locate local lodging opportunities. Check it out if you have
a listing to post. At present listing is a members-only service.
Our Spring 2011 newsletter will be posted on the website in early June. It is downloadable and printable to give
to friends and neighbors.
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The Evolution of the
Toddy Pond Association
If You're Lucky Enough
to Be on the Lake ...
You're Lucky Enough
Sarah LeVine
The TPA developed out of a meeting of camp owners called
in August 1998 by Bob Jones, a longtime summer resident.
At that time rumor had it that the Town of Surry was about
to establish a second public boat landing on a lot the town
owned in West Surry and Bob felt that property owners
should be involved in the decision. About a hundred people
showed up at the meeting in the Surry School and though it
turned out that the rumor was just a rumor, a number of us
were so impressed by the response that we decided it would
be a good idea to form an organization for the protection of
the pond and its watershed. The following summer a smaller group met to establish the Toddy Pond Environmental
Association (“environmental” was dropped in 2007) with
Bob Jones as president of the board, to which each of the
three ponds, First/Lower, Second/Middle and Third/Upper
Toddy, nominated two camp owner members.
At the outset the board identified several topics on which
to focus its energies. These included watching out for loons
as they paired, nested, hatched and raised their chicks; monitoring the quality of the water; marking submerged rocks in
the narrows with buoys; and putting out an annual newsletter to make people aware of environmental issues relevant
to the pond and to provide historical information. (In 2008
these articles were gathered together and published as “A
History of Toddy Pond”; the 2010 edition is available for
$12 (to order, email [email protected]).
Many of us now believe that the most important threat
to the pond is provided by invasive plant species, including Eurasian milfoil and hydrilla, which are clogging lakes
not only in Massachusetts and New Hampshire but also in
Southern Maine as close as 50 miles from Toddy. Knowing
that one tiny fragment of e.g. milfoil could take root in the
muddy bottom and within just a few years pervade the entire pond up to a depth of 25 feet, thereby making boating,
swimming, and fishing impossible and severely impacting
property values, we have organized a roster of association members to inspect all boats putting into the water at
the East Orland boat landing. For several summers past,
on Saturdays and Sundays between July 4 and Labor Day
(when boat traffic is heaviest) volunteer inspectors, whose
objective is to prevent any plant residue from entering the
pond, man the boat landing. In addition to “boat inspectors,” we recruit “plant inspectors” from each of the three
sections of the pond, whose mandate is to become familiar
with all native plant species on their part of the shoreline so
that, should an invasive species be discovered, immediate
action may be taken to remove it.
Each summer the association invites all our members to
a potluck supper at a local venue, followed by a meeting at
which an invited speaker talks on an environmental topic of
interest, and committee heads present reports on activities
in the preceding twelve months and plans for the future.
Donna Foster
What a great place to be. Sitting on the rock near the shore,
so many bird songs play through the air, punctuated by the
whistle of the osprey searching the water for alewives. An
occasional motored watercraft passes by, and the loons call
in acknowledgement. Kayaks, canoes, water skiers — all
enjoying the pond. The sound of children's voices echo
with the squealings of joy. The sound of the loons calling
late into the darkness ... AAHHHHH. That's the good stuff.
So many activities. So much life in and around the pond.
We can enjoy watching the day begin, or end with the sunset, almost any time that we are inclined to do so. People
fishing, trolling along, pause to say, "Hi, isn't this a great
day?". Well, yes it is. Fortunate we are to be able to be beneficiaries of these extraordinary experiences.
Spring at Toddy Pond
Laurie Murray
Nature has called me outside again, outside of the lake
house that sits on the water’s edge at Toddy Pond. It is
spring, the beginning of a new season, a time of renewal
and restoration, a pushing back of the hardships of winter. The vernal equinox came only a month ago, bringing
with it longer days and warmer temperatures. Tonight as I
step out onto the deck, the rising trill of the spring peepers in the cove near the lake house provides a chorus that
echoes into the night. Arcturus sits in the southeastern sky,
its orangish-yellow glow fixed near the celestial equator,
reminding those who look up into the dark skies of Maine
that April will end in just a few days. Gone is the ice that
encapsulated Toddy Pond during the cold winter months,
replaced now by cool waters that entice waterfowl to nest
near its shores. The wail of a loon on the other side of the
cove is returned by its mate, the pair seeking to reunite under the twinkling stars.
The first time I saw the lake house was the summer before
I had agreed to housesit for the winter and spring months
in 2009. Before I made my finally decision to housesit, I
had asked the owners if I could spend the day getting to
know the place. With a picnic basket in tow, I ventured
forth from Lincolnville Beach, where I had been staying
for the summer. Traveling up Route 1 through Searsport
and Bucksport, I finally neared Toddy Pond. The trees then
were still lush with summer foliage. A one-lane dirt road
that led to the lane of the lake house was narrow, overhanging with balsam fir and spruce boughs. Several large
pinkish-gray granite boulders along Decorum Road made it
a tight squeeze for vehicles making their way to the homes
and cottages nestled in the maritime spruce-fir forest of
Toddy Pond. The lane itself curves and winds around glacier erratic left over from the last ice age and one feels as if
entering an enchanted forest.
6
The day I visited Toddy Pond last summer, chickadees
and goldfinches sang in the trees above me. After I had
deposited my food in the refrigerator, I went to the back
yard that slopes to the water’s edge. I followed the balsam
needle path that led to the dock. I remember standing on the
dock for quite a while, taking in all the sights and sounds
around me, as several Canada geese patrolled the waters
and a red-winged blackbird sat on a cattail nearby singing
in the summer sun.
Most of that day, I spent in leisurely reading as I lay in
a hammock that had been tied to two balsam firs near the
shore. An hour or so before the sun began to set; I decided to
go for a swim. As I waded past clumps of soft rush, I noticed
that it had just started to flower. The rush and the cattails
swayed back and forth as a light wind pushed gently across
the crystal-clear lake. Swimming past the pickerelweed, I
saw several scarlet blue damselflies flitting about on a fragrant white water lily. The coolness of the water refreshed
me. On a downed tree fifty feet away, three painted turtles
bathed themselves in the sun. After diving underneath the
chilly water, I swam further and further out from the dock.
When I surfaced, two common loons appeared. Earlier in
the day, I had heard their methodical call, but never thought
that I would ever get this close, close enough to see the broken white necklace that graces the neck of these duck-like
birds that yodel the length and breadth of Toddy Pond. They
stayed near me for almost twenty minutes as we shared the
waters of this lake in Down East Maine.
Now it is eight months later and I have spent the last four
months living at the lake house. I have enjoyed the daily
visits of the turkeys, the red fox, and the white-tailed deer.
Numerous species of birds have come to my feeding station and have partaken of the morsels that I have set out for
them. Several times I even had black-capped chickadees
feeding out of my hand. When I leave my season of housesitting at Toddy Pond at the end of May, many memories
will go with me, memories of spring peepers singing into
the night, memories of swimming with the loons.
Laurie Murray is a candidate for the MFA in Creative Nonfiction
at Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio.
Toddy Pond Calls
Keith Heavrin, Jr.
This Spring is slow, as mud and snow frames bare ground so nice.
Small waters wind rowed springtails flow to soils from melting ice.
Tree buds stuck and swell not much, ignoring Chickadee’s call.
Increasing sun a joy to tell, for squirrels and wild ones all.
Geese have called their ancient song, warm days pursue their flights.
Beloved friends, missed on Toddy so long, prepare for summer rites.
Willow dog yearns for children’s joy, to swim and fetch thrown toys.
She’ll sneak through ferns by any ploy, to play with girls and boys.
Return you all, paradise awaits, our Toddy Pond unlike another.
Heed the call of islands and straits, where waters meet each other.
Three Toes asleep and frogs to peep will awaken soon in turn.
Up from the deep, fresh food to reap, and ashore the barbecues burn.
Soon best of all, we’ll hear loon’s call, so hauntingly day and night.
May summer days crawl, going slowest of all, a brilliance of warm and bright.
7
Toddy Pond Association
President
Donna Foster ☎ 667-1319
Vice President:
Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Secretary:
Keith R. Heavrin, Jr. ☎ 667-1319
Treasurer
Linda Jellison ☎ 469-3775
Board of Directors
First Toddy
Nancy Lord ☎ 469-2188
Jeff Smith ☎ 469-3557
Phil Tardif ☎ 469-0784
Second Toddy
Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Sarah LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Third Toddy
Ernie Gelinas ☎ 667-3738
Linda Jellison ☎ 469-3775
Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Project Coordinators
Boat Inspections ...................... Phil Tardif ☎ 469-0784
Jeff Smith ☎ 469-3557
Boat Landing ........................... Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Email List ................................ Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Fishing ..................................... Bruce Brown ☎ 667-6190
Fish Testing ............................. John Manfred ☎ 667-9545
History ..................................... Sarah LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Loon Count . ............................ Ginger Doyle ☎ 326-8351
Membership and Mailings . ..... Nancy Lord ☎ 469-2188
Newsletter Editor . ................... Chris Dadian ☎ 469-0234
Pesticides ................................. Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Plant Patrol .............................. Bob LeVine ☎ 667-1293
Water Rights ............................ Bob Jones ☎ 664-6190
Water Testing ........................... Dick Salminen ☎ 667-1279
Website Managers ................... Donna Foster ☎ 667-1319
Ian Foster
Toddy Pond Association
P.O. Box 645
Blue Hill, ME 04614
OFFICErs