This swimming hole has been home to a few memories this summer. It's been a great place to cool off and the culvets are the best to scream and run around in.

-Jill Schnorr

Wow...the rain in Maine!

Seems impossible to grill out when we have had such insane amounts of rain.

I heard at the bank in Farmington that July was supposed to be "wicked hot".

With that in mind, the theme for July is "swimming holes".

This is my favorite place to swim, up home--Talmadge being home--this spot is found near West Musquash lake, and it is known as the road to Patten Pond. We call this place the bridge. It's been my favorite swimming hole for as long as I can remember.

I know it's not "from the grill" but it's from the pan. This is taken at one of my favorite restaurants in Farmington called the Harvest House.








Submitted by Jill Schnorr

June theme: from the grill!

The theme this month is from the grill, merely because I am so excited to cook outdoors again.

I've seen some pretty impressive grilling operations in my lifetime, having grown up in an area where the Rod and Gun Club frequently put on dinners as benefits for those in need. Watching those camp cooks at work was amazing.



Personally at this time of year I am liable to grill just about anything.

I have so many pictures of grilled food, it's probably bordering on an obsession with camp food and summer food and the fact that I love to cook out.

It's simple....pictures of grilled food is all I am asking for this month!!

These little bluets are my favorite flower ever. I love how they spread across a field, in little clumps of color. I have loved them since childhood. Sure, a field of dandelions makes me happy, and a wall of creeping phlox is stunning, but these little flowers are my sign that spring truly has arrived.

submitted by Rachel Buck

Who really likes dandelions, anyway? They are poster child of weed management. Luckily bumblebees like them. As much as the ubiquitous yellow blossoms scream "out of control" to us, the bumblebee needs this early shot to launch the crucial pollination season. As long as we need bees we need to appreciate the dandelion. I didn't say love it, now did I?

Submitted by Paul Beane

This is the time of year in Maine when I want to just be home with time to work in my gardens and watch the birds return. Here is a picture of one of my favorite places, my rock garden. From here I can watch the hummingbirds, baltimore orioles, bluebirds, swallows, and so many more.

submitted by Dorothy Small

This picture was taken in my backyard. I was taking pictures of flowers, and I thought to myself, everybody takes pictures of flowers from the top but I have not come across a picture from a bug's eye view. So... I placed my camera under the flower, this is what came out--and I love it.

Submitted by Lindy Curtis

editor's note: Lindy was an award-winning photojournalist in my class at Woodland High. As you can see she has not lost her touch. --ab

May's theme: Flowers

I know, I know, almost too easy an assignment. However, everyone loves it when the flowers start to pop in May. Just yesterday I was walking in the woods and noticed several dozen trillium plants that were not there a week ago--the heat made them pop out of their winter slumber! Don't worry if you see a picture that looks like the one you want to submit. There can never be enough flowers after a long Maine winter has passed.

Submitted by Amity Beane

WELCOME TO LETTER E. I went to visit my very good friend A. in Byron, Maine. Up until this point, I had never been to Byron, Maine. In fact, I had never been to Roxbury, Maine either. So in a span of about 18 hours I went from Dixfield, Mexico, Roxbury and then to Byron. However, to top it all off... I actually took three steps into the Township of "E". Now I am lucky enough to live in a state that has small, rural towns that choose not to govern themselves but let the state handle everything. Since my name starts with an "E", I of course had to take my picture with sign for the LETTER E.



This picture is the old gate to a tree farm in Byron. Its important to preserve the state's resources. Logging and the paper mills are major industries . However, whatever is taken needs to be replaced. It's all about cycles.




Okay, this one I took for A. I loved the Celtic design though in the middle of the sign. A. loved the story behind it: "Most people think of loggers as weekend drunks and hell-raisers and this program is to prove we are masters of managing the forest." A. grew up in the woods of eastern Maine so she knows that good loggers are worth their weight in gold. Or, in pulp.

This was the best part of the day. We drove up to our friend J's house. We visited J for awhile and then decided to walk up to a maple syrup farm. We trek up this huge hill. I went to take a picture of same beautiful running water when I fell hip deep into some very soft snow. Thank goodness that I had the camera and A. did not--otherwise there would be evidence of the debacle. When we got to the farm we stopped at a little house and knocked on the door. Mrs. Maple Syrup gave us the go-ahead to go down to the "shack" to check out the whole process and to get a pint of fresh maple syrup. While checking out the equipment, Mr. Maple Syrup and his nephew showed up and took A. and I all through the "shack" (which by the way was huge!) and explained the whole process of making maple syrup. It was great. After that, I picked up some syrup to bring home to my dad. We stopped back in to pay Mrs. Maple Syrup and to visit for a while. She was a great hostess!

Submitted by Erin Leathers

It's taken long enough, but the season has finally sprung. April showers bring May flowers. Here's to a great season!

Submitted by Jill Schnorr

At the Greek diner. In the middle of a long hot sticky summer. We were watching the parade for the Fourth, and this sign just caught my eye.

submitted by Amity Beane

April theme: Signs

This is a theme I have been looking forward to. Signs in Maine come in all varieties. Something about this one in Rumford struck me: not only can you get your plumbing needs taken care of, but also purchase quiet outboard motors. This is a sign designed for a man, I think. No offense to lady plumbers or fisherwomen everywhere.

Submitted by Amity Beane

Wrapped in a blanket, hammock-ing in a sunbeam filled snowbank. My hubby has hope!

Submitted by Rachel Buck

Blank space. So much possibility found on blank canvases. The ‘Mona Lisa’ started as a blank space and it now sits behind inches thick protective glass and is arguably the most recognizable image in the world of art.

I could bill this as a finished minimalist work called: “Rum-fid in a Blizzid.” I will not however. Instead there will be a large scale landscape on this three panel triptych. I’m going for a dramatic image with very undramatic landscape, which means there will not be snow capped peaks or a colorful sunset. Simple but dramatic.

Blank canvas represents hope just as it does confusion, pressure, freedom, and excitement. It can be the foundation of beauty, horror, humor, or controversy. Hope lies within all of those reactive emotions as well. Beauty can inspire someone who’s down. Horror and controversy can sometimes call attention to an evil in the world than needs attention. Blank space can be powerful.

Submitted by Joe McLaughlin

Hope is a fern unfurling in spring. I transplanted this moss and fern clump last fall, not knowing if it would have the right environment to flourish. Lo and behold, it does.

--Submitted by Amity Beane

You can't always plan for what the future holds,
but you can plan on how you're going to handle it.

I have hope for his future, and that his son will walk an easier path.

I will be there for it all, cheering them on, from the sidelines.

Isn't that hope in a nutshell?

Submitted by Rachel Buck.

Half winter; half spring. This state makes me so excited. The air is warmer; the snow is disappearing by the day and the smile is glued on my face. Everyone in this little town seems to be waking up and going out for a run or walk.

[also can be seen on my Flickr]

-submitted by Jill Schnorr

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

-Bob Dylan "Forever Young"

submitted by Laura Mazzola

March theme: Hope

February was fun! So much snow...a lot of people were out playing in it and enjoying winter!

As I pondered the next theme, I really wanted to do something that was open to interpretation and didn't have to do with the weather as much as the character of the people who put up with it.

See, we here in Maine ENJOY the weather...up until a certain point...and then it starts to affect our mental faculties.

One of the things that give me hope, personally, is starting seeds. I have lived in Maine longer than any other place and know the cycle of the seasons intimately. Having grown up on a farm, the month of March is always tremendously hopeful...because this is when things start to grow again, even if inside.

Now, hope can take many forms, not just the promise within a tiny seed that needs light and heat to grow. Remember, this is about Maine. Where have you seen hope? In the hands of a grandmother? In the face of a child? In the new bud of a tree? In the cracking of the ice or a patch of dirty snow with a bit of brown earth beneath? In an Easter sunrise?

Here's to Hope in March, that all things will begin anew.