Our third season is Mudseason. The trend toward the beauty and brightness of spring seems to be dealt a setback during the month of April.  Snowmelt and thawing ground create a sloppy and grimy mess along streets and in fields.  Frequently storm systems will stall in the Maritimes bringing persistent low clouds and showers of rain and snow.
     
The month of May brings SummerSpring.  Meadows and forests quickly turn green and golden patches of sunflowers can be seen everywhere.  Nights can still be chilly, but summer afternoons are typically very comfortable.  Mid afternoons bring puffy cumulus clouds which frequently grow into scattered showers.  Often these clouds melt away by the end of the day allowing the evening sunshine to bring a vivid amber glow.

June into early August brings Midsummer.  The light greens of SummerSpring have turned into the darker emerald greens of summer.  Most days are very warm and even the nights have become mild, and sometimes are hot and muggy!  Weeds and grasses are growing tall and the sawing choir of summer insects can be heard both day and night.  Rainfall can come from either strataform storm systems or thundershowers.   

Late August through September brings the season of SummerFall.  Grasses and weeds are going to seed, fields are filled with goldenrod, and the classic colors of autumn gradually paint the forests with crimson and gold.  Nights begin to get noticeably cooler, but days are still mild and comfortable with big high pressure systems bringing lots of blue sky. 

Finally, October into early December brings the darker season of WinterFall.  The sky turns grey with a persistent low overcast, and the grasses and weeds become a brittle brown.  An eerie silence comes over the land as everything seems to be waiting calmly for the soft white blanket of snow to tuck the world in for its long winter sleep. 

Midwinter
Winterspring
Mudseason
Summerspring
Midsummer
Summerfall
Winterfall 

By: Mark Bloomer

From winter's bitter blusters and blowing snow, to summer's warm breezes and deep green meadows, the seasonal changes in Maine are known to be very vivid.  We are all familiar with the traditional four seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.  However, from my experience, it seems that Maine, especially northern Maine, may have as many as seven distinguishable seasons.

The year begins with Midwinter.  From the beginning of January into early February, days are short and consistently bitter cold.  Frequent small snowfalls keep roads snow covered and skies cloudy.
The second season of the year, "WinterSpring", extends from mid February into March.  This season is most distinguished by a rapid and noticeable increase in daylight.  Bright sunshine reflecting off a deep snowpack,  and aqua-blue  skies contrasting with indigo shadows, seems to give this season its character. 

Weatherwise, stronger, deeper high pressure systems seem to bring longer periods of cloud free weather between the storm systems.  Nights can still be bitter cold, but calm sunny days begin to offer a whisper of spring.