Robbin Hollis, left, and Elias Mohamed, center, look Sept. 4 at a great blue heron, as their guardian, Edmund Waite, steers his electric kayak on Sabattus Pond. They have just launched the kayak at Martin Point, amid a steady stream of boats on the lake on Labor Day. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Jane Berry-Dinsmore, owner of The Berry Farm, mows her lawn Sept. 7 along Mt. Auburn Avenue in Auburn. Her 22-acre farm abuts property owned by John Gendron, who has proposed an 1,100-unit housing development. “They have been working right up to my property line,” she says. “I do understand the problem. I know we need housing, but if it messes up the lake, we will all pay the consequences.” Berry-Dinsmore says she is “hoping for a buffer zone of fast-growing trees. Tall trees.” Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Casey McGhee of Dirigo Aerospace Solutions fills a Bombardier CRJ-700 regional jet with fuel Sept. 8 at the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport in Auburn. Fuel to get the jet to Indiana reportedly netted the airport more than $3,000. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Burl Ewell of West Gardiner scrapes paint Sept. 6 off the Exhibition Hall at the Litchfield Fairgrounds. At least one day each week since March, volunteers have helped get the grounds ready for the annual Litchfield Fair. The first Litchfield Fair was held in 1858. This year’s fair ran from Friday through Sunday. For more information on the event, visit litchfieldfair.com. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Habibo Noor, center, hoes Sept. 4 as Bates College first-year students Katherine Hansen, left, and Nick Danko weed a row of carrots at New Roots Cooperative Farm on outer College Street in Lewiston. The 30-acre farm is owned and operated by six families, most born in Somalia, with many having lived here for a decade. They graduated from the Cultivating Community’s farmer training program that teaches best business practices and other important aspects of operating a farm in Maine. More than a dozen first-year students volunteered to spend the day — Labor Day — with the local farmers, doing community service. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

Wilber A. Smith, 94, left, receives the Boston Post Cane on Sept. 8 for being the oldest resident of Leeds. The award is being presented during the 200th anniversary of the first town meeting, at the home of the Leeds Historical Society. Smith has lived in Leeds for 71 years and attributes his longevity to “treating my body good.” Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Betty Lebrun Mailhot sings “There’s a Hole in the Bucket” on Sept. 7, accompanied by her husband, musical artist Marc Mailhot of Lisbon, at the La Rencontre luncheon at the Franco Center in Lewiston. The luncheon is a quarterly event of the Parlez Vous French Club, which seeks to bring Franco Americans, French speakers from African nations and French language learners of all levels together for conversation and companionship. “Language is a common thread between the French Canadian immigrants of the mid-1800s and the immigrants of today,” says Denise Scammon, marketing/development director of the Franco Center. “We embrace the differences in cultures and languages of our neighbors today. This luncheon is an opportunity to bring the community together.” Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Jeanne Pacheco, right, and Terry MacLean enjoy the entertainment Sept. 7 at the La Rencontre luncheon at the Franco Center in Lewiston. The longtime friends attend many of the Franco American social events at the center and were thrilled to celebrate Pacheco’s 91st birthday. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Bates College students and faculty members wave their programs to keep cool Sept. 5 as others applaud a speaker during the college’s annual convocation in the quad at the Lewiston campus. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal