March here on the coast of Maine is part winter, part spring, and part something indefinable. This March, we had beautiful clear days during which we could study Acadia National Park across Blue Hill Bay; plenty of rain that collected in the bogs and rippled down rain chains; intense fogs that washed our vision with a gray brush; light snow that soon disappeared, and freezing ice in the ponds and bogs that would melt and refreeze.
Great Cove was calm at times and agitated at others. The streams, full of rain water and melted ice and snow, rushed about their business, and our low tides provided opportunities for children to play pirates. (Two of the pictured children are from the same family and the third is their neighbor who is in the same anti-virus “bubble,” according to the mother or the brothers.)
Most of the exotic wildlife has not arrived here in March, but Red Squirrels and Herring Gulls are year-round neighbors and Common Eiders always take their winter vacations here.
Speaking of Herring Gulls, they take their wintry sun on the angles of New England Architecture in March and that architecture often can be seen best before the leaves come.
Cattail fences around iced-in ponds and Skunk Cabbage spathes rising out of bog water provide interesting contrasts, while Speckled Alder and Pussy Willow catkins provide plenty of promise. of big changes in April.
Around the waterfront, mooring gear patiently awaits late May or early June when it will be attached to the WoodenBoat School’s fleet of small boats in Great Cove. Lost lobster trap buoys, however, will remain part of a colorful collage created around a tree trunk. Most lobster boats that remain in the water during the winter have been converted to scallop boats, with added masts, booms, and shelling huts. There were some unusual vessels in the water during March, as well.
Among the traditional March events here are St. Patrick’s Day and the opening of Glass Eel season. Here we see an unusual pink flamingo St. Patty’s Day roadside banner that captures the eye and of the fine mesh of Fyke nets that capture the eels when the tide comes in.
Finally, we were lucky to have a fairly clear night to see the March full moon. It’s most commonly called the Full Worm Moon because it appears when worms are starting to wriggle in the ground. However, some call it the Full Sap Moon because Maple Tree sap also is starting to run and drip into containers to make syrup.
March was a good month here, all things considered.
(All images above were taken in Down East Maine during Marchl 2021.)