PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With warmer temperatures arriving and much of the snow beginning to melt, Central Aroostook folks are preparing for and eagerly anticipating the start of spring.
For many, spring means saying goodbye to snowplows and shovels and hello again to green grass and flowers. Anne Hemphill has been an avid gardener for 30 years and looks forward to the blooming of perennial bulbs such as Daphne shrubs, daffodils and tulips that can live in the ground for more than two years and return every spring.
Anne and her husband Jeff Hemphill live on the Easton Road in Presque Isle, where hundreds of spring bulbs cover most of the front yard. She often posts pictures of the flowers on her Facebook page and invites community members to visit the garden.
“I’m outside picking up twigs, cleaning up the debris from winter and getting out lawn ornaments as soon as the snow is gone,” Hemphill said. “I get excited to see the bulbs come up through the ground.”
Though she enjoys getting outside during the winter, Hemphill said she has been anxious to see the snow and ice give way to new spring life.
“I think winter feels longer for us up here because we wait for so long and spring doesn’t actually arrive when the calendar says it will,” Hemphill said. “I love seeing everything come alive again.”
For Scott Smith, part-time manager at Cavendish Farms in Presque Isle, spring means providing fertilizer and equipment to farmers who plant potatoes on 7,000 acres of land that they rent from Cavendish in Aroostook County. Though not involved with the planting process, he often visits farms to check on crop conditions and ensure plants get in the ground on time.
Spring also means Smith is looking ahead to summer vacations to the coast with his wife, where their oldest daughter lives in Bar Harbor, and taking to the sky again. For 40 years he has flown airplanes as a hobby, and now his son is learning to fly as a licensed pilot.
“In July, we’ll rent a cottage on the coast of Maine for two or three weeks and take the airplane down there. We’ll take the grandchildren for rides to sightsee and enjoy the views,” Smith said.
Though Smith enjoys all four seasons, he wishes the snow and cold weather would take a little less time to leave.
“I might complain about mowing my lawn in the summer, but at least I’m not shoveling and plowing snow. One thing I can promise you is by July all the snow will be gone,” Smith said, laughing.
Leo Freeman, owner of Perception of Aroostook kayak/canoe shop in Presque Isle, hopes the snow will melt long before July. An avid kayaker and canoeist, he usually hits the water in late April or early May, depending on when the ice melts from the local rivers and lakes.
He most enjoys kayaking from Washburn to Presque Isle along the Aroostook River, a three- to four-hour trip that he said is a gentle ride and one of the most popular routes of his kayaking tours. For kayakers who want more of a challenge, he recommends beginning at the Aroostook River boat launch and riding upstream.
“I take people out there in the summers, too, and often they don’t make it further than a mile and a half on their first try. That route gives you a more serious workout and so you have to build your strength over time,” Freeman said. “I like going around Arnold Brook Lake in Presque Isle as well for an easy, fun ride.”
Freeman looks forward to moving his kayak and canoe displays outside.
“Skiing helps me pass time during the winter, but I think the snow has hung on a little too long now,” Freeman said. “Now it’s time to get out and play on the water instead of playing in the snow.”
