Almost time

Signs of spring are everywhere….lawns are green, daffodils are in bloom, Osprey and Great Blue Herons have returned, smelt have started spawning, and the wait for alewives has begun. The first few alewives, the scouts, were spotted in the lower fish ladder pools two days ago. But they didn’t make the ascent and now they are gone, perhaps only out into the bay. I just saw an Osprey carrying an alewife back to his nest.
The time of waiting for alewives is always a special time in Damariscotta Mills. We—people, seals, birds, mink, and so many others—are waiting for the big schools of alewives. It won’t be long. Can you guess when they’ll be here?