A Walk along Penny Pond Trail in Berwick ...

Berwick, Maine Public Library: at the corner
of Old Pine Hill Road and Sullivan Street. 

Dateline Berwick, Maine (March 23, 2016): If you've the good fortune to live in or near the village of Berwick, Maine, there's a swell, built-in way for you and your family to celebrate the arrival of Spring. Here's what you do: spend a worthwhile hour or two at Berwick Public Library, then do yourself a favor and follow it up with a health-inducing, soul-healing walk along nearby Penny Pond Trail. Together, these two back-to-back adventures will amount to a mind-body experience that you, your friends, and your family are sure to savor! I did just that yesterday, and was rewarded -- as you will be, too -- in ways small and large and unforgettable.

It makes sense for me to share a few of my trail-walking observations with you, but first, I want to commend the nature writing class of Kate Gardoqui and Parker Cavallaro at Noble High School for creating the attractively designed, remarkably informative signs you'll see along the trail. It's great to know we have teachers and students in our schools sufficiently trained, motivated, and inspired to bring their enthusiasm for learning out of the classroom and into the community for the enrichment of us all.

To get to Penny Pond Trail, you need only walk out of the library's main entrance, move swiftly across the lawn to the right of the library, and step directly onto Sullivan Street. Walk to the right, and a short way down Sullivan, on the left, you'll see the entrance to the Trail. If you don't stop along the way to explore, you'll be able negotiate the entire length of the Trail in about 15 minutes, following the red-marked trees. If, on the other hand, you decide to make the smart choice and look more closely, you'll easily finish your trek in less than an hour. And whether you explore it or not, the end of the Trail will drop you off between two lovely homes and directly onto Dobson Road. Turn right on Dobson, and you'll soon be in downtown Berwick!

One of the informative, attractively
designed signs along Penny Pond Trail.

It may be Spring, but as of March 23, the trails -- including the various ramps, installed not long ago by the local Boy Scout troupe and their leaders to help visitors avoid waterlogged shoes -- are still covered with snow from the little Springtime Surprise that recently blanketed the area.  So if you walk Penny Pond Trail now, be sure to wear smart shoes for the occasion. And watch your step!

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better." Albert Einstein's inspiring words are a reminder to all of us that our world is a fabulously multi-faceted classroom, and learning occurs wherever we have either the wisdom or the dumb luck to plant our feet and activate our senses. That includes Penny Pond Trail and everywhere else in Berwick. So how, I must ask, can anyone fairly cry "boredom" and claim there's "nothing to do" in our town!

The River Runs Through It -- 
(through Penny Pond Trail, that is!)

Just observing the elegant patterns in the snow, the tall pines standing proud sentinel in the forest, and the graceful movement of the waters along Penny Pond Trail is a hard-to-beat aesthetic experience. Sure, the Trail may appear to be dormant right now, but beneath that rapidly melting snow, and deep down beneath the steadily warming soil, things are very much alive. You can bet that both the evolving plant life and the myriad small inhabitants down there are eagerly waiting to emerge from their wintertime doldrums and work their way triumphantly up into the sunlight.

The Mystery of Penny Pond
  Trail: What can it be?

We're never too young -- or too old -- to be explorers! With that undeniable truth in mind, enter Penny Pond Trail with the thrill of discovery as your goal. What creatures are lurking beneath the slowly-melting surface of Penny Pond? What birds, happily back from their months-long journey to faraway places, will soon be adding their intoxicating music to the upper reaches of the pines? Where might you find traces of long-abandoned structures along the Trail? And wait! What is that mechanical oddity I found halfway along the Trail -- a ghost from the early agrarian history of our town? If this one has managed to survive the ravages of Time, then there must be others waiting to be discovered!

Penny Pond Trail, I've been told, is only the beginning of an exciting project to establish an ambitious network of trails leading to the rapidly changing downtown area of Berwick. This fact -- along with the prospect of transforming the onetime Prime Tanning facility into an aesthetically appealing cultural and mercantile destination; the dramatic improvements in downtown Somersworth; and the long-anticipated completion of that beautiful bridge between the two neighboring towns -- cannot help but put a smile on the faces and a glow of accomplishment in the hearts of the citizens of Berwick.

This Sign Leads to ...
Learning!

Soon, the snow will be gone, and the surest signs of True Spring's imminent arrival -- buds on the trees, steadily warming temperatures, coats and gloves consigned to the closet -- will make a walk on Penny Pond Trail the perfect topper for your next trip to Berwick Public Library!

In one of the signs you'll find along the Trail, teachers Kate Gardoqui and Parker Cavallaro have recommended an excellent guide to exploring any natural environment, including Penny Pond Trail. It's Reading the Forested Landscape by Tom Wessel, Brian D. Cohen and Ann H. Zwinger. The book is available on Amazon, but check first with your local bookstore or the librarians at BPL. Melissa Saggerer, Lyn Rouff and Co. will be more than pleased to help you with this and other relevant outdoor exploration titles.

It's Springtime at Penny Pond!
Picnic, anyone?

And just think: If you wait a few days, you'll be walking a snow-free trail. Along the way, overlooking Penny Pond, you'll find a picnic table, waiting just for you! Bring binoculars, smart shoes, insect repellent, your friends and family, and your very own intellectually curious mind. And once you're done exploring, you can go straight back to Berwick Public Library and borrow even more stimulating, informative books! Call BPL at 207-698-5737 for Hours and Information.

Nothing to do in Berwick? Surely you jest!
                                                                                     
 -- Essay by Ross Alan Bachelder

    March 23, 2016

    artsmultiple@gmail.com