In photos: Despite a pandemic, Maine’s maple season remains just as sweet

Pure maple syrup is a beautiful thing, sweet, with complex flavors, and it can only come from boiling the sap from a tree, a time-consuming process dependent on the weather. This year was off to a slow start with a warm January and “stone cold” February, according to Michael Bryant of Hilltop Boilers in Newfield. But the sap is running in March, and the coming week should be a good one if it doesn’t get too warm. Maine Maple Sunday is March 28, but this year the 38th annual event will have adjusted hours and options because of the coronavirus pandemic. Press Herald photographers visited some southern Maine makers busy producing syrup last week.

In photos: Let there be light

Daylight saving time started again on Sunday, leading to dreams of those long summer nights in Maine, when the sun doesn’t set until after 8 p.m. There’s a bipartisan bill in Congress now, called the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, sponsored by politicians as different as U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., that would make DST permanent. If it passes, we would not switch our clocks back in the fall. Meanwhile, Press Herald photographers took advantage of our lengthening days to look for beautiful light.

In photos: A winter wonderland just outside your door

It’s February, it’s cold, we’re in the middle of a worldwide pandemic (as if you could forget) and that spells cabin fever. So here are some photos to remind you of the many ways that Maine is a perfect place to be living through this. It’s a winter wonderland just outside your door.

In photos: Ice, an otherworldly beauty

Love it or hate it, winter is here, in all its icy glory. When you are freezing outside – your feet like stone, your fingers, white marble – consider the miracle of ice. Water, liquid and gas, made solid. Look closely and you’ll find its otherworldly beauty.

In photos: Mittens and Mainers, what’s not to love?

Warm woolen mittens are one of our favorite things, and they got special attention when Sen. Bernie Sanders wore them, sitting in a folding chair looking grumpy, at President Biden’s inauguration. Sanders’ mien and mittens, in the photo by photographer Brendan Smialowski, went viral, making the Twitter universe, and many others, happy for many cold winter days. The mittens were famously given to Sanders by Vermonter Jen Ellis, a former Mainer. Ellis learned to sew at Mahoney Middle School in South Portland, taught by home economics teacher Jeannette Collett. Here are a few Mainers with their mittens, including Collett, who is wearing her very own pair of Jen Ellis mittens.

Press Herald’s 2020 Photos of the Year

We will never forget 2020, a year of tumult and heartbreaking loss. The coronavirus pandemic shook the world, the Black Lives Matter movement focused our attention on systemic racism, and the U.S. president was impeached. Schools and businesses closed. People lost their livelihoods and their lives. Millions of people protested, and a record number of Americans voted. And as the year came to a merciful close, hope emerged.

These narratives played out across the country and in the streets and homes of Maine. Our photojournalists told them in the images they made.

This year, instead of choosing the ‘best’ photos of the year, we’re telling the story of the year in pictures. Wearing masks and staying socially distanced, the photojournalists of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram recorded this historic year with grace, poetry and courage.

In photos: Lighting up the night

The winter solstice, the day with the fewest hours of sunlight in the Northern Hemisphere, takes place at 5:02 a.m. Dec. 21. The long nights of a pandemic have been made beautiful, though, with holiday lights throughout our cities and towns. Many people put their displays up earlier than usual this year as a way to bring joy and help dispel the gloom of a difficult year. Press Herald photographers recorded some of the colorful beauty.

In photos: Mainers talk about what they’re grateful for

Thanksgiving is over, but being thankful doesn’t have to end with the holiday. Despite the hardships of the coronavirus pandemic, finding reasons to be grateful can help make our lives better. Research has shown that gratitude can have health benefits, from sleeping better, to feeling less stress and more contentment. Throughout November, Press Herald Staff Photographer Brianna Soukup recorded images of Mainers who told her what they are thankful for.

Apple-picking time, a fall tradition in Maine, has arrived

An apple a day really can help keep the doctor away, and even during a pandemic, apple picking can be a healthy outdoor activity, with masks and precautions in place.