Eighth grader Airs Thurlow takes a quick rest March 22 while waiting for the elevator with Ella Jewett at Auburn Middle School at 38 Falcon Drive. Thurlow and Jewett are moving props for their Odyssey of the Mind rehearsal in preparation for the state finals Saturday at Noble High School in North Berwick. The tournament determines if the two Auburn teams qualify for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University in May. Edward Little High School also has a team. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

A worker for CSX Transportation surveys the damage March 20 off Greene Road in Wales, where four railroad tank cars containing limestone slurry derailed near Leeds Junction. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Jackie Young waters petunias March 22 at Young’s Greenhouse at 643 High St. in South Paris. Young says the official opening April 22 is expected to include a scavenger hunt. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Catcher Olivia Rioux sets up to receive a pitch March 20 from Gretchyn Paradis on the first day of practice for pitchers and catchers at the Poland Regional High School gymnasium. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Steam rises March 22 as maple sap boils inside the Locomotive Treehouse Sugarhouse in the Danville neighborhood of Auburn. Dan Giguere of Lewiston spent two years building his sugarhouse among his maple grove along Old Danville Road. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Leonel Reyes stacks wood March 20, the first day of spring, at Jillson’s Farm & Sugarhouse at 143 Jordan Bridge Road in Sabattus. The wood heats one of the colorful greenhouses filled with spring flowers. “This is a busy time of year as we juggle between the greenhouses and Maine Maple Weekend,” Scott Jillson says. “We start selling from the greenhouse earlier each year because the weather gets warmer earlier each year.” The greenhouses are scheduled to open May 1. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Lily Yarnevich of Auburn secures the dance floor March 20 while others stand to keep the surface flat at the Riverfront-Franco Center at 46 Cedar St. in Lewiston. Yarnevich and other volunteers with The Dance Center in Auburn are preparing the event center for the opening March 23 of “Off World,” an original, modern dance piece that incorporates conflict, humor, character development, murder and sparkling aliens. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Gavin Dennison flies out of a bowl March 24 at the Lewiston Skatepark at 27 Spruce St. He and friends, who call themselves “Lewy Locals,” shoveled out the park so they could skate and take advantage of the warming temperatures. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal