Discovering the Charm of a Woodland Winter in Maine

As I sit here typing this, I am watching tiny snowflakes softly falling with the backdrop of the tall lofty pines gently swaying in the wind. Gray clouds moving in briefly revealing a patch of blue sky here and there. Winter in Maine is very different than the winters we experienced in the mountain valley of northern Utah. Growing up on the sunny side of life on the west coast, winter has never been a season I ever feared, but rather a season I dreamed of experiencing and living in. Our first winter in Maine was beautiful, but the past few winters have been much different. Still, the beauty that winter provides isn't just about the abundance or lack of snow, it's about the raw vulnerability of nature and the process it goes through before it's refresh and rebirth in the spring. The lush and full green leaves from spring through autumn give us a sight and a vision to behold. The various shades of green in the spring that deepen as the warmer days of summer progress, then provide a stunning parade of color for us to savor in the autumn. Winter's beauty is where we get to see the raw nakedness and shape of the trees. Their strength to endure the fiercest elements and bitter cold of the winter season. As snow falls, it gracefully dresses the limbs and branches of the trees and ground in a layer of pure white that transports you to a place of peaceful surrender. Winter walks among Maine's pines heavily covered in snow is one of my favorite winter experiences. Maine's woodlands are rich with the Eastern white pine and balsam fir. The glorious scent of pine as your snowshoes crunch through the snowy trail is intoxicating and refreshing making you almost forget how cold it is. So, bundle up, put on your snowshoes, boots or spikes, grab some ski poles and a thermos of coffee, tea or soup and head on out into the white wonderland of winter in Maine.