by Peggy DePersia, guest blogger

The ‘cat is out of the bag’ or something like that. Though it isn’t really a secret, it is a fact that reveals itself by degrees; like an onion, it becomes more intense with every layer. At least that’s been my experience.

Let’s see. Where to begin?

The beauty of the natural world in Maine seldom fails to impress and if you time it just right, about mid-June, you will enjoy a most luxuriant display of rhododendron, especially along the Maine coast , Portland and beyond: the soil and atmosphere suit them just fine!

And, if the ‘simple pleasure’ of brightly lush rhododendron is not enough, there is other natural drama to captivate and allure along the coast. Take the abundantly plentiful lupine, a wild flower that once you notice, you begin to see everywhere song the highways and byways of Maine. 

I have heard it compared to the kudzu one might notice in Tennnesee in its ‘everywhere-ness’. You could be sitting at a traffic light waiting for the light to change from red to green and it might be your lovely view ‘out the window’.

Stepping it up a bit, one can hardly beat Maine for boulders. The nuances of color and shape and the dramatic differences in scale of Maine boulders is noteworthy. Forget about fieldstone, these are some mighty rocks whether in a wild environment or one more cultivated. They are austerely majestic and lend another level of gravity to the well worn phrase: “solid as a rock”.

This may be the point to mention ‘pace’. if one hopes to savor the beauty of the natural world, it sometimes requires slowing down a bit. Our fast paced, frenetic, “I need it now if not sooner”, 21st century pace of life is not necessarily valued by ‘Mainers’.

 Visitors, or those just passing through Maine discover this pretty quickly and come to appreciate a quieter way of being.

This, straight from the mouth of a Maine innkeeper who generously listens to all of her guests; not just Texans.

Peggy is a retired art instructor who loves to explore the connections between art and life, particularly with her camera toting sidekick, her husband. Here she is assembling a boat purchased at the  Maine Wood Boat School with her grandson.