Put your boat in at the landing, and enjoy a peaceful afternoon on the water, a panoramic view of Mount Monadnock, and a close-up look at Meetinghouse Pond's rich variety of flora and fauna. Paddling around the edges of the pond in summer, you'll skim through blooming flotillas of white and yellow water lily, water shield, and stands of purple pickerelweed. The whorled leaves and pink flowers of sheep laurel line the shore, along with other water-loving shrubs such as highbush blueberry, sweetgale, maleberry, and sweet pepperbush. When water levels are high, the bog mat can be circumnavigated. The north end of the pond is a haven for waterfowl, from Canada geese to hooded mergansers.
Palm warblers stop to rest on the mat during migration.
You may surprise a great blue heron in one of the tiny coves, or be surprised by the warning slap of a beaver's tail. Cozy up to the bog mat itself, and enter a world afloat on a carpet of sphagnum moss. The slow, quiet water of the pond allowed this floating mat of vegetation to form and slowly build up over hundreds of years. Here, carnivorous pitcher plants and sundews trap unwary insects. Heaths such as leatherleaf and bog rosemary, and black spruce trees are lingering refugees from the far north, pushed south ahead of the last glacier.