One summer, along about 1904, my father rented a camp on a lake in Maine and took us all there for the month of August. We all got ringworm from some kittens and had to rub Pond’s Extract on our arms and legs night and morning, and my father rolled over in a canoe with all his clothes on; but outside of that the vacation was a success and from then on none of us ever thought there was any place in the world like that lake in Maine.
—From “Once More to the Lake” by E.B. White
E.B. White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) is perhaps most famous for his beautiful children’s books—Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. But he was also a brilliant essayist, writing for magazines such as The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine. If you have never read any of his elegant essays, I encourage you to do so. One Man’s Meat is an excellent place to start.
“Once More to the Lake,” one of the pieces in One Man’s Meat, is an elegiac essay about returning to a favorite lake White and his family visited in his childhood in Belgrade, Maine, not far from where I live. White went in the summer, which is when most folks from away come to Maine lakes. Years later, White returned to the lake with his young son, and the essay is a reflection of how things both change and remain the same, how his son’s experience was a mirror of White’s own boyhood experience.
Yesterday, I had a once-more-to-the-lake moment. I live in a town in Maine with so many lakes and ponds that at times it feels as though Winthrop is an island. According to centralmaine.com, there are more than three dozen lakes and ponds in Winthrop, and some of those ponds are big enough to be considered lakes.
My lake of choice was Marancook, which sprawls between two towns, Winthrop and Readfield. Instead of going in the summer, I went on a fine February day, where the sky was a deep, impossible blue. Although I don’t like to walk on the ice anymore—my knees are too creaky for that—I still enjoy parking my car by the lake and admiring the cold view.
Clif took these pictures, and this last one caught his shadow.
However, here my story diverges from White’s essay about how the years dissolve change from one generation to the other. Although there is some ice on Marancook and a few ice fishing shacks, there is also a lot of open water. Usually, by February, the lake is pretty much frozen solid, and there are so many shacks on the lake that it looks like a colorful village has suddenly sprung up. On a fine day, when sound carries, you can here people talking and calling to each other.
Not so this winter, which has been warmer than average, when storms in December have brought rain and flood rather than blizzards. How much longer, I wonder, will people be able to go on the ice to set up their shacks?
I don’t know. And yesterday, while I still admired the lovely view, I had a shiver of apprehension, of change coming so rapidly that even a generation ago, when my parents were young, it would have been inconceivable to have open water on a Maine lake in February.
Notes From the Hinterland 
It’s scary. I think we are beyond the point of no return.
Yes, but I hope we, as a species, will wise and stop things from getting worse.
There is little ice here in Vermont as well. Right now, I’m looking at a green field with just a few patches of snow.
The photos are lovely.
And in February in northern New England!
I know, quite worrisome.
Love your photos – that blue!
Especially like your shadow in the last one – I’m waving!
Many thanks! The blue is splendid, that’s for sure.
Such a lovely part of the world. My family spent a few summer holidays at Sebago, with our next door neighbors. I share your concern about what Mother Nature has in store next. But on the other hand, Cape Breton just got 32” of snow and it hasn’t stopped yet!
Sebago is a lovely part of Maine, too. All those lakes and ponds. I have heard about Cape Breton and other parts of Nova Scotia. I was wondering how that weather missed us, and today I learned on the radio that there was something in the weather pattern that diverted it around Maine. Weird sure is the new normal.
We both dodged a bullet this time!
the changes are indeed scary. I wonder similar things about the lake i grew up on – will it ever ice over again? will children ever know the joy or skating on the lake or roasting hot dogs and sipping hot chocolate on its frozen shores.
A ‘shiver of apprehension’ describes the feeling well. One can’t help but wonder what the future holds. I love days like you shared in your photos… cold and crisp with a sun to warm your face. 🙂
Yes, sigh. On such a beautiful day, too. But that open water—in February—sure gave me pause.
A well constructed post with good pictures from Clif. The mention of Pond’s Extract being somewhat pertinent.
Thanks so much, Derrick!
What a glorious day; impossible blue is the perfect description.
Many thanks!
White sure was a gifted writer. He had a natural, graceful style.
One of our finest. I am so taken with the beauty of his writing
Beautiful pictures Laurie. So interesting to hear how obvious climate change has become. I have moved to two different countries in the past 20 years so it is hard to judge, but even in the 11 years we have been here you can feel a difference.
Many thanks! Yes, living in the same place for many years definitely gives one a sense of the change.
Hi, Laurie- Very timely and poignant post. My husband and I are currently driving over the Coquihalla Mountain pass (mostly commonly referred to as ‘Highway from Hell’ due to its hair-raising winter conditions. It is surprisingly quite dry and mild today — which is lovely for our drive but does give thoughtful pause.
Yes, indeed! Sigh.
So many things changing, and not necessarily for the better.
But you got some gorgeous pictures, Laurie.
Thanks so much! Especially after the terrible flooding in December, the change is becoming more and more obvious.
A “shiver of apprehension” is exactly how I feel about climate instability. It is not a good feeling, and it’s moving at a speed that is frightening, honestly. I fear for the upcoming generations.
Lovely pics of the lake. That is a crisp, gorgeous blue!
Not a good feeling at all. Sigh.
Megunticook Lake isn’t completely frozen either. Then again, we tend to be a bit warmer in the winter, here by the coast.
Yes, yes! But this is very unusual for central Maine.
White’s attitude of the visit being a success despite ringworm and an overturned canoe is so inspiring with its positivity. Another place where lack of ice is a conern is the canals in the Netherlands, where skating has been a national pasttime–and form of transporation–forever. You’re right about it being very sad and scary.
He and his family took it in stride. I, too, like the positivity. So sad to learn that about the Netherlands, but it’s certainly not a surprise.
The stark white and intense blue are gorgeous, Laurie! Yes, the changes are coming rapidly in our lifetime. The next 20 or 30 years we will see far more coming our way.
Right? Sigh. So scary.
Wow, Laurie. You’ve written a nostalgic piece with a sobering end. I would have loved to spend a summer on a lake, any lake so I can imagine your sense of loss. I sometimes feel a loss for what might have been.
I didn’t know E.B. White hailed from Maine. I remember how surprised I was to realize that the Stunk and White we all had as students, was co-written by the same man! I’m a huge fan of his children’s literature. I’ll make an effort to reach some of his essays as well.
Very sobering to see all that open water on a Maine lake in February. E.B. White’s essays are definitely worth seeking out. He was one of our greats.
Sobering is the perfect word to describe this. I hope we can turn the tide.
Yes, indeed! Sigh.
Beautiful photos and I know what you are saying about our climate changing as we see it here in Australia…I try to hold onto some of the small good things happening.. I know.. not enough!
Just on a more cheery topic of authors and books, my two daughters absolutely loved Charlotte’s Web (a bit sad from memory) and Stuart Little, and I read it to all my classes. So a big thanks to E.B. White.
Also I just started re-reading “Turning Towards Home” reflections on family from Harper’s Magazine ( published way back in 1993… I love the short stories and reflections.) So I’ll enjoy reading “One man’s meat” many thanks.
E.B. White is one of my favorite writers. “One Man’s Meat” is a beautiful collection of his elegant essays. A scary time, but it’s important to hold on to the small good things.
A chilling piece in both senses of the word. As soon as you mentioned lakes I was expecting to see fishing shacks, not open water. I hope we can do something before it is too late.
Oh, yes! Me, too.
🙂
I remember reading and enjoying E.B. White’s eloquent lake essay. I also agree that it’s very disconcerting and scary to see long-established places or conditions undergo change before our eyes, some more subtle, others more extreme, such as Maine’s recent floods, or the current devastating floods in California.
It surely is disconcerting to see open water on a lake in Maine in February. I have been hearing about those floods in California. So terrible. And, yes, what an eloquent writer White was.
In your comments I discovered that White was “that” White: co-author with Strunk in that classic book. I’ve always enjoyed his essays, although I’ve not read as many of his stories.
That blue sky is something! Down here, we talk about ‘blue northers’ — the strong, strong winds that come with a late autumn or winter front and scour out the humidity and haze from the air. Once one has passed, we have that kind of blue, and everyone smiles!
Yes, indeed. Such a wonderful writer. One of our best, I think. A blue sky in Maine in the winter is a sight to behold.
It looks so beautiful around the lake and you are right everything is changing.
We had heavy rains in the past week and now a lot of snow accumulation is expected.
The lake is beautiful in the winter, but all that open water is not typical of a Maine lake in February. Big changes.
Yes… Now we are dealing with a snow storm. Weather is changing so quick.
We have had very little frost this winter and the tree buds are already starting to break. We will have to do a lot of adapting.
We sure will!
Your post reflects what many of us are wondering about the weather pattern these days. Will the winter sports survive this shift or will a home in New England be able to survive the summer without air conditioning? Here in SC, we go from 70 degrees to the 30’s in a 24 hour period. It may be very inconvenient for all of us, but I truly worry about the farmers trying to grow food to feed us all.
Yes, yes! At our home in the woods, we now have air conditioning. For the first 30 years, we were just fine without it. I, too, am worried about the farmers.
A thoughtful piece with excellent illustrations to prove your point.
Thanks, Anne.
Thanks for the recommendation about E.B. White’s book of essays. Our local library has it, but someone else is reading it! I love when older books are still sought out.
Yes, it’s great that White’s book is still in demand. Such a wonderful writer.
“Impossible blue.” What a beautiful way to express that glorious blue sky, Laurie. I just might borrow the phrase, too, I like it so much! You’re so right. I can remember many winters as a child when the snow would stack up FEET outside, but it wouldn’t be ridiculously cold. Now, we’ve got the weather bouncing around all over the place — generally warmer than usual, with more rain than anything else. Sigh. I’m not sure we’ve got it better nowadays.
Please do borrow! When it comes to the weather, it certainly isn’t better. Oh, the storms. Maine got hit so hard by flooding in December. Something I didn’t think I would ever see.
Great pictures but a gloomy look forward. We will need a big change in who pays for politicians if anything is to change in time.
Yes, so true. Sigh.
Great post, Laurie. I had no idea that the great E. B. White had connections to Belgrade. My mother, a second grade teacher for many years, read her classes “Charlotte’s Web” every year, despite always crying when Charlotte died. And my copy of “The Elements of Style” is barely holding together after the many years of abuse I have subjected it to. (He would have had a complaint about that sentence.)
The first thing I noticed about your gorgeous pictures was the water at the edges. Shocking. These are anxious times, indeed. Sending hugs.
Thanks, Jodie! Yes, one of our greats. White made coastal Maine his home for many years, and when he was young, came to the Belgrade Lakes region with his family.
Yes, absolutely shocking.
I have that same shiver of apprehension. This is the second winter in a row with no snowmobiles or hockey games on the lake and it was only cold enough over two weeks for a few people to be out ice fishing. On the one hand, I’m now at an age where I hate driving on bad roads or fearing I’m going to fall on icy sidewalks and it’s been wonderful this week to have sunshine and warmer temperatures while I’m out, but at heart I miss our traditional cold snowy winters. Lovely shots at the lake and I’m not ready to give up on the thought that those old winters could still return.🙂
Yup. We went by the Narrows yesterday and it has the barest skim of ice. Can this be February in Maine?
There’s place I know where the person in the old days who kept detailed temperature records was hailed in modern times for her contribution to science. Now we have all sorts of machines recording weather. But if you were to check that lake every year on the same day, I think you would be doing some science no one else is doing.
I felt that shiver moving through you, Laurie, about how fast change is coming upon us. I grew up on Lake Champlain and remember the ice shack villages on ice that would freeze 4 feet thick. We used to spend all day out there exploring the frozen landscape. Now it only freezes over about once every 4 years.
Yup. Big, big changes.
Beautiful images Laurie and we are still in the El Nino phase where temperatures are rising. It will be interesting to see what happens with the lake when the next four-year cycle of colder weather begins 💙
Yes, yes. Warmer here in than I have ever seen it, even in other El Nino phases.
I see the fishing shacks out there in one of the photos and I wonder that they would brave the not quite frozen over lake. I’m in a grief stage lately about how the seasons have already changed. I don’t understand the “do nothing” approach we’re in. All that said, your photos are lovely.
Same. Sigh. 50 degrees here today. In Maine. In February. Never thought I would see this.
I was about to ask what they were.
The seasons are out of sync. I remember as a child, they were easier to define. We live in the Western Algarve and it is definitely far warmer here now than it was when we first arrived.
Alas, warmer everywhere, I think.