I have been paddling at Sheridan Lake for 18 years now. I suppose that it isn’t much of a lake by the standards of the world. It’s just a small reservoir. But 375 acres is plenty big enough for a canoe. If I put in at the marina, which is closest to my home, I can paddle to any other point on the lake and back within an hour or so. Some days I paddle to the dam. Other days I paddle to the cabin area on the south side of the lake. Other days I paddle to the inlet. Some days I paddle into a little cove near the campground. Many days I just paddle out into the water and practice a variety of canoe strokes: forward, back, draw, sweep, pry, etc.

At the edges of the season, in the spring and in the fall, I often paddle a kayak. With a spray skirt, the kayak is warmer for the legs. I also have a yawl that I love to row. But my real passion is paddling my canoe. In 2001 I made a woodstrip canoe to the lines of a Chestnut Prospector that is as close to an ideal canoe for me as I have yet found. That canoe has been living on the roof of my old Subaru Forester this summer, ever ready to head for the lake. I’ve been able to paddle 3 or 4 times a week for most of the summer. I can get up, head to the lake, paddle for an hour, come home and shower and still be in the office by 8:30, which is often early enough for summer.

I have three paddles that I like to use, but one is clearly my favorite. I used to do a lot of paddling with a large-bladed paddle. My Sawyer Voyager paddle has a big laminated blade and a prominent t-handle. I’m a short guy with quite a bit of upper body strength and I can move a lot of water with that paddle. The handle makes it very easy to turn the blade as I begin recovery and the big blade has a lot of surface to turn water and control the canoe without too much effort. For playing, however, I simply don’t need that big of a paddle. My Bending Branches Loon is a more typical canoe paddle. It is laminated with a fiberglass-reinforced tip and nearly indestructible. It would be a good expedition paddle, but I don’t do much expedition paddling. I used that paddle to teach myself about Canadian style paddling.

These days, however, my clear favorite is a Shaw and Tenny Racine model. Shaw and Tenny is a small shop in Orono, Maine. My paddle is made from a single piece of Maple. It is simple, clean and just the right shape. And it is perfectly balanced. It is a great paddle for strokes when I want to have both hands near the end of the paddle. I have plenty of reach, even for a guy with short arms and the paddle feels so good in my hands.

I suppose that for a true explorer, paddling in the same lake day after day might become boring, but there is just too much to see and too much change going on at Sheridan Lake for me to ever get bored. This year I know of at least four pairs of Great Blue Herons on the lake. One pair has fledged three chicks. When you flush five Great Blues at once on a still, misty morning, you can’t help but be impressed. There is a young beaver that I think is male, who has been spending more time than usual out on the main lake. I know what he’s looking for, but his methodology may be wrong for that search in that location. Finally, he has started to build a new lodge, downstream from the other lodge, but still well into the creek before it gets to the lake. He’s got two little dams going, but neither is strong enough to survive spring runoff. There are plenty of young willows and other trees to provide the food he needs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to make a bigger migration upstream at some time.

The Canadian geese only have one brood each year, but I’ve seen them successfully hatch as many as seven chicks. The chicks can swim within the first couple of days, but they have to survive much longer before they can fly. It takes all summer for the geese to raise their little ones. Some of the broods I get to know enough to notice when they lose a chick. I think it has more impact on me than it does on the mother goose. She seems to always be a bit busy with her chicks, even though they seem to be adept at feeding themselves very early in their lives.

The mallards often have a second brood in the summer and their clutches are bigger. I’ve seen as many as 10 or more chicks with a single mother. The mallard chicks are on the water in the first day and they are a hoot to watch when they are little. They can put on a burst of speed when alarmed and they all scatter into the reeds at the edge of the water when my canoe approaches too close. It is amazing how much splash the tiny birds can make.

The lake offers eagles for watching and deer along the shoreline. There are lots of other creatures to observe as well. I’ve learned a fair amount about humans over the years as well. It is rare for there to be any boaters on the lake before 8 a.m. who are not fishermen. Fishermen generally like the quiet, which is another quality that I enjoy. They motor out to their spot and work the lake without bothering anyone, including the campers and others who are often still asleep in the early hours.

So I won’t be bored with my little lake. In fact my advice to someone who thinks that their lake is too small is simple: get a smaller boat and learn to paddle more slowly.

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