This May in Downeast Maine we got what we pined for all winter — sunny days; clouds racing in blue skies above clear waters; trees and grasses turning green, and buds and blossoms emerging in a profusion of colors.
Our woods were inviting and our streams were ample.
The white-tailed deer were molting into their lighter coats, the muskrats were shedding fat and hair, and the snowshoe hares were losing their white fur.
The returning birds were spectacular, as usual — great blue herons were in abundance; ospreys immediately nested and the brooding females were fed by their mates; red crossbills swarmed the treetops, prying out seeds from cones; nest-building, sparrow-like female and audacious male red-winged blackbirds took over the marsh ponds; tree swallows flittered over fields, and our resident wild turkeys strolled the woods. Our shy painted turtles emerged from their winter sleep and basked almost hidden around the rims of ponds.
On the waterfront, the first schooner of the year, the J&E Riggin, arrived in Great Cove toward the end of May, full of tourists who didn’t seem to mind a chilly breeze. Alumni returned to the WoodenBoat School to ready the fleet of small boats and classroom shops for June classes, and lobster boats also were being prepared to haul their traps in June.
May tree foliage was especially good this year. The old, gnarly apple trees again bloomed white and pink; horse chestnut trees produced their pyramidal blossoms; yellow lantern and white star magnolias were true to their names; kousa dogwood trees offered their delicate, vase-like bracts, and ornamental crabapple trees were breathtaking.
Not to be outdone, the traditional May-blooming perennials were outstanding, including lush lilacs; trumpeting daffodils; mysterious orange quince, and even the pesky dandelions.
Finally, in the darker woods and still waters, we had a gorgeous May crop of starflowers; robust arrow arum shoots, soon to be very large; fragrant water lily pads, many red; vibrant green skunk cabbage, and purple rhodora, our wild azalea.
(All images here were taken in Down East Maine in May of 2023.)