Spring in Maine
is not a gradual occurrence. We do not
get a slow warming trend that step by step leads to a glowing and beautiful
spring. In Maine, spring happens all at once. It is an immediate occurrence. Yes, there is a initial stage where the ice
recedes a bit, but that cannot be called spring because the land is still
barren and terribly cold. In Maine, we jump from a
very long winter that ends one day to a spring that begins the next day.
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| Some Canada geese enjoying the sun. |
The sun is angling much higher in the sky now. It’s rising in a different location and
setting in a different location. Only a
month or so ago, I could see the sun rising early in the morning through a
certain spot in the trees, and I photographed it quite often because it was so
beautiful to see. Now that spot has been
abandoned, and the sun has moved quite a bit to the left. It’s warmer outside, too, and that’s very
inviting after such a long and cold winter.
The vegetation has not returned yet, although a couple of
brave crocuses have popped their pretty little purple heads up. My eyes drink in the sight of these flowers
as if they were a masterpiece hanging in the Louvre. A tiny crocus, a flower that most people
wouldn’t even notice, becomes an exquisite work of art to me. It looks so foreign in its still-gray and
barren landscape, but its presence is like a heralding trumpet shouting, “Make
way for spring! Make way for spring!”
And the Canada geese have returned. I saw the first famous V-formation flock
flying north over my head just a week ago.
Yes, I think it’s safe to say that spring is here.
