A small burst of red splashes against ice-covered trees when a cardinal flies by at the Stroudwater River Reservoir in Portland. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Chase Lappin, an eighth grader at Holy Cross School acting the part of Jesus, carries a cross through the church on March 29. Guarding Jesus are students Brayden St. John, fifth grade; Max Tatro, eighth grade; and Jason Dow, fifth grade. Holy Cross School performs the Living Stations of the Cross every Friday during Lent. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Megan Jones of Portland swings with her partner at the Eastern Promenade as heavy snow falls on March 23. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Pre-K students Tyir Brown, left, Lola Decker, center, and Walker Verville put on their mittens and gloves before heading to outdoor recess at Narragansett Elementary School on March 18. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Gulls flock around Jimmy Hadden as he feeds them from a park bench on the Back Cove Trail. The 64-year-old Portland resident estimates he feeds them three or four times a week. He says the birds recognize him when he arrives in his car. “They know Daddy’s here,” he joked. “It’s therapeutic. It’s relaxing. They really enjoy it.” Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Winey Ogweta, third from right, hugs friends and family after a gathering at Kennedy Park to honor her late-boyfriend Raoul Mapendo Tshiyuka on what would have been his 31st birthday on March 11. Tshiyuka was shot on March 2 in Portland and later died at Maine Medical Center. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

A fire destroyed an event barn at 342 West Gray Road on March 12. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer 

The sun sets behind the Burnurwurbskek Singers as they perform a song that combines traditional Penobscot voicing and rhythms with a modern arrangement during Vigorous Tenderness, a vernal equinox concert at Wells Reserve at Laudholm on March 19. At eight locations throughout the reserve, musicians repeatedly performed one or two songs by different queer composers or composers of color as audience members wandered from location to location at the pace of a museum visit. From left: Sarah Agnes Tuttle, Matt Consul, Brian Shankar Adler and Nick Bear. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Eyad Arbab, 6, laughs after throwing a chunk of snow into the air while playing with his brother, Ehab, 3, outside of their apartment in Portland on March 27. The boys and their mother had just arrived in the U.S. for the first time the night before. Their father, El-Fadel Arbab, said that Eyad was incredibly excited to play in snow for the first time. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Clint Willis of Cape Elizabeth unwraps his leash before entering the surf on March 6. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Madeline Howard, 5, looks at a large tree that fell in a storm at Payson Park in Portland on March 24. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

People walk through Monument Square on March 29, a dark and rainy day. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Acclaimed violinist and composer Daniel Bernard Roumain plays his violin inside the Abyssinian Meeting House in Portland on March, 5. Roumain is composing music inspired by the meeting house and will perform a block party-type concert hosted by Portland Ovations outside the meeting house in May. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

A cyclist peddles along the Eastern Promenade as the setting sun touches the treetops on March 8. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Portland Ballet rehearses “New Works,” an annual show that gives experienced and emerging choreographers a chance to bring fresh pieces to the stage. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Ally Strout walks Autumn into a barn at the Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals in Windham. The MSSPA cares for horses, typically 30-40 at any given time, who have either been seized by law enforcement from neglectful homes or surrendered by owners. The Society has been in existence for 152 years and at its current location on River Road in Windham since the 1970s. Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer

Buddy Doyle poses for a portrait while reading Bruce Springsteen’s autobiography “Born to Run” in the parlor of his Gardiner home. Doyle took photos of 50 Mainers in their favorite reading spots for the book “Where Maine Reads.” Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer

Protesters against U.S. support of Israel’s military action in Gaza demonstrate at Portland’s Monument Square on March 30. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

Gregory Ishihara, an employee of the Portland Parks, Recreation & Facilities Forestry Department, brings out a chainsaw to help with the process of removing a large branch off Judy Garnett’s car in the Oakdale neighborhood of Portland on March 24. Garnett bought the car just five days ago. “I’m trying to hold it together,” she said. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer

Kathy Robie of Freeport hoops during Portland Bike Party’s dance break on March 16. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographe

People gather at an Easter sunrise service on the rocks at the end of Two Lights Road in Cape Elizabeth on March 31. This year’s ecumenical service was hosted by the Thornton Heights United Methodist Church, Cape Elizabeth Church of the Nazarene and Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Churches. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer