Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

Lisa DiGiovanni, a yoga teacher, meditates while facing the sun on the rocks in Biddeford Pool shortly before sunset on March 9. Meanwhile, her dog Lyra concentrates on the photographer. Buy this Photo

Photo by Derek Davis

Bruce Fowler and Kirsten Cyr watch the sun go down over Munjoy Hill from the Eastern Prom on March 3. The Portland residents are ready for longer, warmer days. “It is one of the physical manifestations of hope and good things to come,” Cyr said. Buy this Photo

Photo by Derek Davis

Snow and ice melt on the basketball and tennis courts at Portland’s Eastern Prom on March 3. Benjamin Franklin is often incorrectly cited as originating the idea of daylight saving time. He wrote a satirical essay in 1784 saying the citizens of Paris would save “an immense sum!” by using sunlight instead of candles. Buy this Photo

Photo by Brianna Soukup

Jenny Dutra and Evan Owen, both of Gorham, watch the sunrise at Higgins Beach in Scarborough on March 10. As days lengthen, the sunrise is earlier every day, rising at 5:56 am on Saturday in Scarborough. But the next day, with daylight saving time beginning, the sun didn’t rise until 6:54 a.m. Buy this Photo

Photo by Brianna Soukup

A surfer waits for a wave just before the 6:02 a.m. sunrise at Higgins Beach, Scarborough, on March 10. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

Late afternoon sunlight casts shadows of a stand of red pine trees in the Alewive Woods Preserve in Kennebunk on March 8. The 625-acre parcel was conserved by the Kennebunk Land Trust in 1990 and has large stands of red pine that were revegetated after the fires of 1947. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

A boy skates across the ice backlit by a setting sun at West Brook Skating Rink in Biddeford on March 5. The first week of March was a cold one. Buy this Photo

Photo by Ben McCanna

Late-day light streams between two buildings to illuminate part of the the hull of the lobster boat Hard Runnin’ Tide at 4:39 p.m. March 10 at Custom House Wharf, Portland. Buy this Photo

Photo by Ben McCanna

A dock line casts long shadows in late-day sun on Portland’s Maine State Pier at 4:32 p.m. March 10. Buy this Photo

Photo by Ben McCanna

A mere glint of setting sun is reflected on Bug Light as Kyle Bennett of South Portland throws a disc for his dog Brody at 5:29 p.m. March 10. Buy this Photo

Photo by Shawn Patrick Ouellette

A lobster boat sits tied to its mooring at Kettle Cove in Cape Elizabeth just before sunset on March 5. It is legal to set lobster traps anytime during the year, but there are time restrictions for hauling traps from June through October. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

Late afternoon sunlight casts shadows where a woman sits in a hammock strung between trees near the Eastern Promenade Trail on March 11. Buy this Photo

Photo by Derek Davis

Wynne McGintee, 7, of Yarmouth works to fly her kite at the Eastern Promenade in Portland on March 10. The second week of March was warm enough to melt most of the snow in southern Maine. Buy this Photo

Photo by Gregory Rec

Walking the dog along the Eastern Prom in Portland, in the late afternoon. Daylight saving time is commonly called daylight savings time but that’s grammatically incorrect. There’s no “s” at the end of saving. The blog Grammar Cops suggests “saving” is incorrect as well since we’re not actually saving daylight, we’re just shifting our accounting of it. Buy this Photo

Photo by Brianna Soukup

From left, Emma LeBlanc and Taylor Nagel walk out to surf just after the 6:02 a.m. sunrise at Higgins Beach in Scarborough on March 10. The pair just recently began surfing. “We come as often as we can,” LeBlanc said. Buy this Photo

Photo by Ben McCanna

The Hamilton family of South Portland eats ice cream at Red’s Dairy Freeze at 1:58 p.m. Friday, the second day the popular spot was open for the 2021 season. From left: Margot, Ryan, Remy and Brooke Hamilton. Buy this Photo