I gladly join the chorus of folks reveling in the images and memories of Maine’s stellar view of the solar eclipse on a cloudless day with temperatures well into the 50s. And in the afterglow of that shared experience, I walked through my yard today, and noted that despite lots of old snow, coltsfoot are blooming, native bees are flying, and birds are returning to nest in Maine and fill the air with a chorus of song. Any day now in central Maine, frogs and salamanders will be on the move to lay eggs in familiar ponds and vernal pools.

It occurs to me that mysteries and marvels are all around us, all the time. Looking out a window or stepping into the dooryard, one may experience the wonder of nature in Maine’s urban or rural Maine settings. Imagine the joy that is ours to experience daily, if we make the time to grow our awareness of nature’s astonishing ways. With our senses recently and finely attuned to the awe of the universe, let’s savor Maine’s nature, upon which all life depends, and safeguard it for those who will bear witness to the next solar eclipse in our state.

Susan MacKenzie

Oakland