The May weather was full of extremes. There were unprecedented temperature swings up into 80-degfree (F) afternoons and down into frosty mornings. There were sunny, blue-skied days, unusually heavy rainfalls, gusty winds and blanketing coastal fogs.
At the beginning of the month, the deciduous trees were bare. Then, May magic happened! Seemingly all at once, most trees were fully leafed and beautiful blossoms were popping up everywhere, including horsechestnut tree blooms.
As usual, we’ll initially share with you the month’s effects on the four iconic scenes that we track for local records: The views of the western mountains of Mount Desert Island from Brooklin’s Amen Ridge; the Harbor Island summer cottage across from Brooklin’s Nakeag Point; rockbound Conary Cove in Blue Hill; and land and water views of that near-mountain called Blue Hill:
May’s substantial rainfall remedied our dangerously dry woods and filled our threatened field ponds:
We highlight now some of the many spectacular May flora perfomances. First, the trees that came back to life after their big chill. Among the earliest spring arrivals were the male and female red maple tree flowers; their trees’ fanous leaves arrived several weeks later, including some already-red ones:
Our blossoming fruit trees got plenty of attention in May. Of particular interest wrere the apple blossoms on the old, abandoned apple trees along the old country lanes:
Other May-blossoming trees that turned heads were the crabapples, shadblows, plums and star magnolias:
Not to be ignorred were the early flowering shrubs. As usual, the forsythias blossomed before the leaves appeared on the trees and on their own branches, as did some purple and white azaleas and the hanging lanterns of Japanese andromedas:
Chokeberry buds expoded into loaves of white blooms, but purple and white lilacs stole the show once they appeared:
Nonetheless, most rhododendron and vibernum flowers apparently decided to delay their spectacular performances until June:
Golden dandelions and daffodils were among the earliest May flowers to bloom. Most of the daffodils died during the month while the dandelions continued to mass-produce themselves. Also, as usual, the ephemeral purple rhodora bog flowers came early and left early.
In May’s small world category, there were azure bluets (Quaker ladies), hookedspur violets (dog violets), star flowers, and bunchberry flowers:
As usual, skunk cabbage, a spring signature plant, went through floral gymnastics in May until it reached its gloriously beautiful maturity. But, as it’s name implies, it has a hidden fault. (Imagine Grace Kelly with bad breath.)
Also undergoing magnificent May transformations were the ferns,. As usual, many of them started with tightly-wound frond “fiddleheads” that unwind into lacy magnificence. (Note: The fiddleheads of some ferns should not be eaten.)
As for very early garden showoffs, the prize goes to quince:
Among the May fauna of note were our browsing white-tailed deer. They started to shed their well-worn and scarred winter coats, while converting their menu from wood-based basics to grass-based delicacies:
On the other hand, our beavers not only ate wood (inner bark), they toppled down trees and made dams with it , while our red squirrels ate the seeds that might have become wood:
May’s most interesting feathered fauna included the return of Ozzie and Harriet, the osprey couple that nests nearby. Harriet appeared to be incubating her eggs most of May, while Ozzie would bring her meals and sometimes just sit with her:
We also have to refect on our returning great blue herons, winter’s bufflehead ducks that stayed over until mid-May, and our full-time neighbors, the herring gulls:
May also brought out our sun-seeking reptiles and amphibians, represented here by painted turtles, a garter snake, and a baby bull frog:
On the waterfront, the renowned Brooklin Boat Yard remained busy all throuigh May, when it installed its docking floats on its pier in Center Harbor:
Among the boats that we watched being built at BBY during the month was the racing sailboat DYLAN, a BBY-designed “Eggemoggin 47+” (47’ 6” overall length). She was basically finished on the last day of May and reportedly was scheduled to enter the water for her sea trials in early June:
Down the coast a little, the also-famous WoodenBoat School was prepaing for its June opening by readying its boatbuilding classrooms and putting its fleet of small boats (that also operate as classrooms) back into Great Cove:
Commercial vessels that were “on the hard” all winter were unwrapped and returned to the water in May. Some fishing vessels that had worked all winter dredging for scallops were being rested before starting the lobster-trapping season in June:
Finally, we look to the evening and night skies. Unusually, May had two full moons. The first, at the beginning of the month, was her traditional Flower Full Moon, a name she deserves for obvious reasons. The second, at the end of the month, was a so-called Blue Moon, as second risings are called. In between, there was plenty of variation:
(All images in the post were taken in Down East Maine during May of 2026.)