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.