Richard Hodges, founder and director of ReTreeUS, unloads fruit trees Sept. 13 under the guidance of Wil Libby, director of the YMCA Outdoor Learning and Education Center on Stetson Road in Auburn. With the help of TD Bank volunteers, more than 40 trees and 120 fruit and nut shrubs are to be planted later this month. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Woman’s Literary Union members Doreen Jordan, left, President Kathy Lawrence, center, and Sue Miller prepare Sept. 14 for the weekend’s yard sale at the Foss Mansion at 19 Elm St. in Auburn. The annual event has been expanded from one day to two because of Hurricane Lee, Lawrence says. Because high winds and rain are in the forecast for Sept. 16, the sale is being held inside the mansion and garage Sept. 16 and 17. “This is our biggest one yet,” Jordan says. Proceeds are to be used for mansion restoration and student scholarships, which are given annually to a college freshman. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Garland Wright, left, and Javatte Simms gather apples Sept. 14 at Wallingford’s Orchard in Auburn. Crews are picking apples in certain areas ahead of Hurricane Lee in what orchard owner Peter Ricker calls a “protection pick.” Trees that are especially susceptible to nor’easter winds are picked at the top first because they would be the most likely to fall in high winds. The timing of Hurricane Lee is not good, Ricker says. “Any hurricane between early September and the middle of October is horrible for us,” he says. Ricker calls this a challenging year, with an abundance of rain, a lack of sun, a hailstorm, a late spring frost and now a hurricane. “There has not been a part of our operation that has not been affected by Mother Nature this year,” he says. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Members of the Central Maine Community College women’s soccer team offer Bruce Condit water Sept. 10 near the halfway mark of the Lake Auburn Half Marathon in Auburn. Nine teams from CMCC, about 220 students, volunteered during the event. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Peg Hoffman, left, speaks Sept. 12 with Timothy Gill at the steps of Trinity Episcopal Church at 247 Bates St. in Lewiston, where Gill had stopped to smoke a cigarette while carrying his and a friend’s possessions through Lewiston. Minutes earlier, Hoffman had been talking with Lewiston Community Resource officers about possible language church leaders could use on signs meant to help keep the community safe while remaining welcoming to all. “We want to be good neighbors and follow our call for compassion,” Hoffman says. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Terry Stange drops his recyclables into a bin Sept. 11 at the city facility on Gracelawn Road in Auburn. City officials say they will restart curbside recycling, which they stopped earlier this year, but continue the drop-off recycling facility to compare the two operations. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Martha Ford of Lewiston waves to passing motorists Sept. 11 on the Gov. B. Longley Memorial Bridge spanning the Androscoggin River between Lewiston and Auburn. Ford’s late husband, John, used to come out and wave an American flag every Sept. 11 after the terrorist attacks in 2001 to urge people to never forget those who lost their lives in New York City, at the Pentagon in Virginia and in Shanksville, Pa. Ford says she remembers more motorists honking when her husband waved the flag, but a passerby stopped Sept. 11 to thank her for being there and gave her a package of chocolate mint cookies. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal