We’ve eased into the time of year when the weather is at its friendliest here. Yesterday was as close to perfect as any day can get anywhere. This is what you would have seen then if you were sitting next to me on my favorite hidden rock, deeply breathing in the pure, cool air and hoping for something different to cross the North Field. But, on a day like yesterday, everything becomes different, even the familiar.
The field will be cut sometime this month, when Ray McDonald can fit us into his busy schedule. Many people here keep non-agricultural fields that are mowed in late summer or fall. The annual mowing preserves the summer wildflowers, grasses and sedges that are homes and sustenance for many animals and insects. Without mowing, the field soon would return to brambles and then forest, of which we have enough elsewhere. (Brooklin, Maine)