MORE SIGNS OF SPRING IN MAINE!
Signs of spring and emerging life continue up here in Maine. We are having another string of beautiful warm and sunny days, so things are drying up at the campground, thank heavens. I was over there recently and was surprised to find that the toads had surfaced and mated in the Lily Pond. There were strings of their eggs wrapped around a black hose on the east side of the pond. The wind had blown them into a pattern that made me think they were part of the hose! Here they are. I will mark the calendar, since we look forward to their emerging as toads later in the season. That is always fun to witness, since these are amphibians that move back to land once mature adults.

In the Lily Pond, I also saw the beaver swimming towards its lodge while a Black Crowned Night Heron flew over head. Later, when I headed out, I heard the toads trilling over near the pond at the entrance to Head Beach.

Plants are emerging and flowers are presenting themselves to the delight of all. Near the school in the center of town, I observed my first Fawn Lilies in bloom. These are beautiful ephemeral spring bloomers. Their mottled foliage makes one think of the spotted fawns which gives them one of the common names we use. Others prefer calling them Dogtooth Violets or Trout Lilies, but there are a number of common names attributed to this flower. This is why we should try to use their scientific name which is used world wide. In this case the name is Erythronium americanum. It is considered an ephemeral since it blooms early and then dies back when the overhead trees leaf out.

We have had some spectacular weather that must make people think camping is on our doorstep. Take a look at one of our beaches. Can you identify where this picture was taken? Those puffy clouds have been apart of our shoreline scene recently. The beaches have been windswept, and tidy. However, the water is still very cold. Lobstermen are complaining that those animals are not yet moving from deeper waters. Their catches are lean and the prices remain high. Remember that Calico lobster I showed on a report a while back, was it in March? I was down at the local school where they have a salt water aquarium and that lobster was still holding fort. I talked to the lobsterman who caught it, and he is now concerned that it will snap up the small flounder he has placed in the aquarium. There is an interesting menagerie of animals in the tank. He also mentioned how interesting it is to see how the anemones move within the tank! How great that the local kids can witness the interaction of these animals in their school.

5/5/07 Ronnie, with spring in her step!