For one of the truly outstanding paddling and mountain gazing experiences in the Northeast, consider a visit to Eagle Lake on Mount Desert Island this June. At 425 acres, Eagle Lake is the largest freshwater pond in Acadia National Park. June is a great time to visit; kids are still in school, and the notorious Acadia hordes of tourists have yet to fully engulf the park. Plus, Mother Nature is in full summer mode.

Back then, few folks hunted in spring — say for bears (legal then), woodchucks and crows. They concentrated on angling, but that changed after the successful turkey introduction in this state during the 1980s.

June always marks the beginning of summer for us in the Northern Hemisphere. That will happen at 7:09 p.m. Wednesday, June 20. The sun reaches its highest and northernmost point on the celestial sphere at that moment. That is also known as the summer solstice and will give us the longest day and shortest night of the year.

I got fooled again. My wife and I were recently looking out over Johnson Bay, a small embayment in Lubec that is a part of Cobscook Bay. Over the water I saw a long string of dark material. I thought it was a line of algal wrack, carried offshore by the powerful tides in Cobscook Bay and caught at the interface between two currents.

When trout and salmon gently sip floating insects off the surface, it often means that they are feeding on hatching aquatic insects, dead-drifting with the current or just sitting on still water, typical behavior for mayflies.

The arrival of a new season always comes with a certain amount of anticipation on the part of turkey hunters. This year’s early spring green-up seemed to increase the anxiety as hunters pondered how it might affect their success.

Springtime is trout time. But when is it time to go trout fishing in the spring? Many fisherman swear by the old adage that when alder leaves are the size of a mouse’s ears, it’s time to go trout fishing.

METINIC ISLAND — The work of federal biologists trying to bring seabird populations back to Maine’s vast island network is a job littered with unexpected problems and roadblocks.

The Camden-Rockport area abounds in trails for virtually every biking level and interest, from easy glides along the harbors to challenging mountain trails that’ll test even the most proficient expert.

Trails don’t just happen. Rather, it takes an enormous amount of time, energy and money to plan, build and maintain the trails we use and enjoy so much, on the part of a whole host of committed public and private organizations, and with an army of dedicated volunteers.