September 2009 Almanac
This Month: Try to Remember … Sweet, Sweet September
No month has light like September as humidity gives way to crystal-clear air, electric-blue skies and sunlight sweet enough to rival any other spot in the world — an oil-painter’s delight. It has drawn world-class artists for two centuries or more, and we get to see it for nothing while wandering in the woods and on the waters in this grand state.
In the not-too-distant past, September in Maine was a lazy month. A handful of dedicated fly rodders got out for a last hurrah, but mostly, folks were waiting for hunting season the following month.
That’s not the case anymore. September keeps us hopping as fall fishing skyrockets in popularity and crowds form around name waters — big crowds…hotdog-cart-sized crowds. Not only do salmonids attract us to water, but so do black bass, stripers, groundfish far out in the Atlantic, blue and mako sharks and more.
Hunting for rails and snipes, deer in the expanded archery zones and bear (the savior of the North Woods economy), scouting for deer, shooting smoothbores, rifles, bows and arrows all vie for attention.
A lack of bugs makes car camping, canoe tripping and backpacking a joy, day hiking excites many folks, picnicking in the perfect weather titillates legions, photographing scenic and wildlife images in the sweet light get folks out, bicycling in the warm afternoons before the frigid days begin in October, and even just shopping at outlets create happy memories to carry us through a brutal Maine winter later.
Yes, we’re all busy this month, the weather proves perfect much of the time and life feels mighty good. Indeedy, Maine is the way life should be, just like the commercial says, and September underscores that philosophy.