Photo copyright Nathaniel Hammond
Here on my small Maine island the deer are so desperate for food that they have devoured huge chunks of my holly bushes and I expect they are waiting ravenously for the first tulips to poke through the ground. That will be a while, however, as the snow drifts are still several feet high in the gardens. I can feel the mood around town lightening as the days continue to grow longer, the snowstorms grow lighter, and the sun shines more brightly. Today as I look out my office window, sunlight is breaking through the cloud cover and the sky is pale blue instead of gray. And on my early morning walk I heard a few birds chirping and actually spotted a robin. Spring is coming and my quiet island will awaken again.
Month: February 2014
Winter Wonderland in Maine
Photo c. Nathaniel Hammond
When you spend winter on a small island with about 100 other hardy people, you quickly learn to help each other out. Last week more than 100 people, including of course some who came over from the mainland, attended a benefit potluck supper at the little island church’s community hall. All the proceeds went to help a local family whose business recently burned down. That kind of camaraderie is one of the best things about living in Maine.
Cold or not, sunny days like this one bring out walkers, and this morning I saw people I haven’t run across in weeks, bundled up to their eyes but determined to get out and about. It has been a rough winter even by Maine standards, but with the end of February in sight, everyone is looking forward to spring….eventually. Meanwhile, we slide to the store in the morning for the newspapers, cross-country ski in our own back yards, and experiment with meals that take all day to cook and warm up the kitchen while they’re bubbling along. Pretty soon I should be reporting on the first returning birds and the first crocus sightings….just not this week, I expect, as another 4-8 inches of snow are predicted within the next few days.
February on a Small Maine Island
With the sun shining, everything that’s good about living in a remote corner of Maine comes into clear focus. This morning, for example, I took my usual two-mile walk around the island, ending up at one of our two tiny cafe-stores to buy the newspaper. Although clear and sunny — really a gorgeous day — it is also bitterly cold, and many of the local lobstermen
Their pickup trucks were lined up nose to nose outside the cafe, a couple with the engines still running, and every one with the keys still in the ignition. Although I’m used to seeing this, for some reason this morning I was very aware of how lucky I am to be living in a place where you can confidently park your vehicle, keys and all, and enjoy your day without a worry about your car or truck being stolen. No great philosophical awakening here….just a quick reminder that I’m pretty darned lucky. it was a fortuitous start to my morning (and I’ll have to remember it tomorrow when another 8 inches of snow are predicted and we’ll all be back to grumbling about the weather).