As the first signs of spring blossom into summer, activity on the island begins to heighten. Repairing traps and gear during the winter months, lobstermen now ready their boats for an early launch, hoping to find the lobsters’ secret hiding spots this season. Island artisans open their shops and year-round folks, taking every advantage of warmer spring days, begin gussying-up their homes and doing outdoor projects. Excited to return to Chebeague to renew close ties with island friends, seasonal neighbors anxiously open up their cottages in anticipation of another great summer of adding new treasures to their store of fond island memories.

Then, almost as if it had never been, the bustle and the comings and goings during our brief summer seem to quickly transition into fall foliage. School reopens; boats are hauled; cottages are closed; the days shorten.

Only the heartiest of fishermen venture forth.

Then, slipping into a winter’s sleep that belies the level of activity on the island, the season soon transitions into the fresh beauty of spring. And the cycle repeats.