Spring leg was finally here, full of new challenges and opportunities waiting to greet us. Pack baskets were loaded, food boxes were packed, and paddles shone as we learned the first of many new skills: portaging! The canoes were carried down the steep hill from Maine Local Living School to Mud Pond, which we made our way across, some of us taking our first strokes as paddlers. (Walking the Canoes to Mud Pond)

We then carried the canoes  on our shoulders to Drury Pond, where we met Temple Stream. Oh, how you taught us such humility! For such a small stream, Temple Stream had plenty of treacherous features: sharp bends, gravel bars, blockages, strainers, and even some small rapids. Thomas and Lily received the honor of the first flip when caught in a particularly nasty overhanging bush.

for something special for our daughter.  She