When Spring Comes to Maine

When Spring comes to Maine the thrush starts to sing

deep in the woods

where it builds its nest

and though the shadows have yet to grow green

the tree buds decorate sky and ground like party confetti

While down along the river emerald pastures roll upward to the sky

 

and the gray horse grazes contentedly on new green grass

 

When spring comes to Maine the barn swallows return to perch on the wires

 

and hunt over the fields

gathering insects with their wide mouths

filling the air with motion and chattering

purple and orange flashes in the sky

as each tiny leaf unfolds and unfurls in the forest

and the chickadee feeds from the tips of the twigs

and below the birds

and beneath the trees

the meadow has become a carpet of May flowers,

bluets with bright faces,

Bursting from the damp earth

When spring comes to Maine.

~Kathie Adams Brown (May 6, 2012)

Last Sunday Gus and I took a drive up to Maine to visit his family. Gus has been there at least once a month since we moved back east. We barely made it this time as it was April 29th when we went, but so far he has not broken his streak and we hope to keep it that way. While Gus hung out with his parents, I took My sister-in-law for a drive once again down along the Sandy River to count birds. It was just about noon when we finally got out there and so did not see many birds, but we saw enough to make me happy, though most were too far away or too tiny or too backlit for any great photos. I did find one yellow-rumped warbler singing in some pine trees but it was so high up that it was little more than a dot in my lens. Still, you can’t beat springtime in Maine!