“Stonehouse Pond” for Southeast Land Trust
by Sarah Anderson
Feb, 2021
Stonehouse Pond
Come ready with sturdy hiking shoes, ready to catch
and release. These wetlands and woodlands will leave you
breathless. You’ll leave no trace. Let’s review the rules:
Floating: encouraged
Entrance fee: no
Swimming: yes
Exploring: yes
Paddle boarding: absolutely, a must
Bathing: no
Finding inner peace: unavoidable
Come ready to cast your line, raise binoculars to your face.
Focus. Don’t look away except to adjust your footing
on a rock or a root. Stand still. Stay still. Come swim,
see light and color flash against water below a granite cliff,
all 150 feet, on the pond’s southwestern shore. Anglers, hikers,
cross-country skiers, trappers—you’re all welcome.
No motor boat touches the water’s surface. Eastern
Brook trout fill the 55-foot depth instead. Blue Gill, Chain Pickerel,
too. If you’re paying attention, you’ll see a map. The map’s legend
will tell you in symbols of Shrub-emergent wetlands, vernal pools.
The property line will be a dash, an important mark of clarity.
You’ll see a symbol for a gravel road, and another for a gate,
trail, footpath, and bridge. Come ready to the ridge
and use caution. Use caution all the way around, but not so much
that you miss the Mountain Laurel patch, the perennial stream,
or the beaver dam. Over three-hundred-year-old Black Gum trees
will surround you, shelter you. Come ready. Come wild
like the water’s edge, like the sky at sundown. You know the rules.
Sarah Anderson holds an MFA in poetry from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers. She has 18 years of high school teaching experience, and currently teaches 8th grade and 10th grade English at Berwick Academy. With her husband, she owns and operates The Word Barn in Exeter, NH, a gathering space for literary and musical events, where she runs a reading series (The Silo Series) as well as various creative writing workshops. Her poems have appeared in various journals, including December Magazine, Raleigh Review, and North American Review.
The Southeast Land Trust (seltnh.org) conserves and stewards land for the benefit of people and nature in New Hampshire. SELT serves 52 towns and cities of Rockingham and Strafford counties and has conserved tens of thousands of acres since 1980, including nature preserves, hiking trails, farmland, and scenic vistas. SELT relies on its annual contributing members, committed Board of Directors, and talented staff and volunteers to keep advancing critical conservation initiatives in our region.