Maine's Season Changes (Portland, Casco, Milo: live, garden, swimming)

[Northern Maine Land Man]

It's one of those gorgeous spring mornings in Maine. The air is till; the sky is dark blue and the lake has warmed up enough that we had a dense layer of fog about 2 feet thick on the lake at sunrise. That fog has burned off and it is so calm that you could see dust on the surface of the water as the sun rose over the trees. The leaves are full size now and the color is deepening from the very light green to a dark forest green.

People from away don't get to see this. I figured I would start a thread on seasonal changes and somebody would run with it. There is a lot going on in Maine. Young livestock is being born, gardens going in, public picnics and clam bakes are starting up and Maine is in high gear looking forward to summer.

[Nor'Eastah]

Originally Posted by Northern Maine Land Man

People from away don't get to see this.

Sure we do - not in Maine, but right here where we live!

We have deep blue skies, lakes, fog, and morning sunrises here in RI! Spring is so far advanced here, it's just about summer! The leaves on the trees are full-sized now, people's gardens went in at least a month ago, and baby-whatever's are all over the place!

Time for picnics started with Memorial Day. And clam bakes - especially here - are wherever you go!

I think spring is beautiful just about everywhere. RI isn't very far from Maine, but folks from all over the US are enjoying the return of spring and summer now. Maine's experience is very much of interest to us, so this is a great idea for a thread!

[7th generation]

Three weeks ago I started swimming the pond nightly. It is glacial formed and surrounded by high ground, allowing any sounds to be heard distinctly. The call of the loon is a joy as it resonates across the water and coyotes have had their pups. On a calm night one can hear the female yipping, repeated by the youngsters. It is eerie to follow the calls of the adults as they hunt and communicate with each other. Bullfrogs have started their nightly chorus at the north end and it's amazing how abruptly the song ends.
Spring is memorizing and serene as the rebirth is in full swing.
Ahhh............Maine.

[MaineMathTCHER]

I live right on the coast and on certain spring days, at about dawn, a mist comes in. The smell of the ocean penetrates everything. I like to open my windows and snuggle back down in my blankets and just enjoy the smell of the ocean after a long winter. It is the best of spring, with the cool crispness of salt air that I love.

[starwalker]

It looks to me like spring turning to summer... bringing back memories of my childhood in MI. Here in the Milo area, the trees are now all leafed out, and wildflowers are coming into their own. I have been going nuts photographing them (got to get some of them OUT of the camera today, too!) And the variable temperatures -- from 80s back to 60s and back again -- well they are just great. I don't mind a day or so of heat, love the "cools off at night" part and the fact that the heat comes and goes.

My tomatoes have blooms and the rest of the garden is growing too... I have noticed that the rate of change of day length has slowed to around a minute every 4 days... where last month at this time it was lengthening by a minute or more each day.

[Boomerang]

I was sad to see the first kaleidoscope of spring colors pass into deeper greens, but the full leaves perform their service of filling up and rounding off the landscape so that the whole world is now a vast, rolling green landscape, apart from the sparkling blue waterscapes in between.

We've seen fireflies the past few nights.
The peepers have all but stopped, but we hear the bullfrogs and one other type of frog we haven't identified yet.
The tree swallows are busy with their nestlings, flying in and out of their nest box continuously.
A robin was out on the lawn, looking for insects until dark last night.

Earlier this week I drove south into Portland about 4:15 a.m. The sun was just below the horizon, preparing to making its appearance, but already the water and islands of Casco Bay were tinged with that first intense rose-red glow of dawn, so beautifully framed in the deep sparkling, spreading blue of the awakening sky. Sunsets are pretty, but sunrises are spectacular.

[CapeCodder]

What's cuter than a baby goat? Nuthin! =)

The hills in Readfield are several shades of green...Kent's Hill is stunning right now.

Dragonflies are everywhere. Hummers are at my lantana. Rose-breasted grossbeaks are nesting. Yellow irises are blooming away next to yellow and pink peonies.

happy happy

Loving life...and loving Maine.

[Boomerang]

Originally Posted by CapeCodder

What's cuter than a baby goat? Nuthin! =)

Aw....what about lambs? They have me in stitches, the way they'll just be walking along behind their mom and suddenly Sproing! Sproing! they're airborne, and a moment later, they're walking sedately again. Reminds a person of what it feels like to be young

[CapeCodder]

Originally Posted by Boomerang

Aw....what about lambs? They have me in stitches, the way they'll just be walking along behind their mom and suddenly Sproing! Sproing! they're airborne, and a moment later, they're walking sedately again. Reminds a person of what it feels like to be young

Ok...that's cute. (psst...baby goats do it too tho!)

[emu742]

what a wonderful thread idea, everything here puts a big smile on my face picturing it all Now what is exactly involved in a clam bake? sounds very tasty/festive