Our vacation home is a small 20X30 cottage with a cathedral ceilinged living room. The cottage was designed and built about 15 years ago to take advantage of a lovely location surrounded by water. Sliding glass doors look out on the pond and spillway in two directions. The living room has a wood stove, comfortable sturdy furniture, including a pull out sofa that makes a double bed, some antiques, including kerosene lamps, that we used when we first built the cottage and had no power except a generator. Now the house is fully electrified. The living room has a dining area and over the counter access to a small kitchen. Hand braided wool rugs are on the floor. One side of the living room adjoins a screen porch overlooking the pond and waterway. The porch contains a table and chairs and a charcoal grill. We eat on the porch as often as possible, because the view is so beautiful.

The kitchen is small, but fully equipped and functional. There is no dishwasher. Also, there is no TV. We have one bath with shower and tub.

Upstairs is a good sized sleeping loft with a double bed. Furnishings include antiques, hand hooked rugs and quilts. A large picture window looks into the woods.

We swim from a sandy beach into a cove that links us with the larger pond of about 70 acres. The water is pristine. We do not fish, but people who do seem to enjoy it. The pond is stocked by the Fish and Game people with a species of lake trout. The rental includes a canoe. We also have a kyack that you could borrow. It is a very quiet area. There are only three full time residences and a few seldom used weekend homes on the northern and eastern shores of the pond. The cottage and our year round home are the only dwellings on the 105 acres we own on the eastern shore. The area abounds with wildlife. We often see moose, deer, otters, racoons and lots of birds. A bald eagle sometimes soars over the pond and recently a parade of ten turkeys marched up the hill.

The cottage is in a woodland setting, but is surrounded by perennial gardens.

Although the cottage can accommodate 4, it is designed for two. It is ideal for a couple who enjoy outdoor activities, natural beauty and each other. Two Londoners found it a perfect spot for their honeymoon .

The cottage is in Greenwood, large in area, but small in population. The nearest village is Bryant Pond, "famous" for having had the last crank telephones in the US. Bethel, a lovely and carefully preserved New England village is twenty minutes away. It has good restaurants, a movie theater and an excellent Regional History Center. The Sunday River Skiway is nearby. Norway and Paris, other nice, but more populous towns, lie at about the same distance in the opposite direction. The Sabbathday Lake Shaker village is less than an hour away. Portland, with all the amenities of a small city including a fine Museum of Art, interesting shops and a busy waterfront, is an hour and a half away, an easy day trip. The scenic White Mountains are also nearby, as is Freeport, the home of L. L. Bean and a mecca for shoppers.

There are several golf courses nearby.

Needless to say we love it here, but if you like a lot of night life and crowds, this is not for you.

Indian Pond lies at the end of a long, well maintained, gravel road. The setting is quiet and entirely restful. If you need help, our primary residence is located nearby but not within eyeshot. If we are away, we will leave names of helpful friends and neighbors who will be pleased to assist you. We do not allow smoking or pets.

This is a seasonal cottage and is only available June through October, all stunning months here. Because we have two other homes, we can offer non- simultaneous exchanges or reasonable rentals. We generally don't travel in the summer or fall, because that is our most beautiful time in Maine. We always go somewhere in April, mud season here.

Open to any dates

Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico or we are open to suggestion. New York is not a desired exchange because our daughter lives there and we visit frequently.

Henry has retired from his career as a senior partner in a Boston law firm, but maintains a practice in mediation and arbitration. Pat has also retired from her job as a consultant and head of management development for large corporations. She has become an artist and published writer. We spend most of our time here in Maine, but also maintain a condo on Beacon Hill in Boston (Home Exchange listing #15371) . We have three grown children, a Manhattan, NYC lawyer, a Cambridge, MA bookstore owner and a playwright.

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