In the past week I have heard the first peeps of spring from the marshes, listened to the familiar “peent” of returning woodcock, pulled the taps from our maple trees, and turned over the garden.

Sometimes it takes someone “from away” to increase your appreciation of what lies in your own backyard.

Right about now at the tail end of winter, most of us are looking for an excuse to get outside for a good walk, a chance to stretch the legs, breathe some fresh air and clear the mind. A walk along the ocean usually works for me, so on a sunny day recently I decided to check out a coastal venue I’d never visited before: Marginal Way in Ogunquit.

Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton holds a very special place in my heart, and I’ve taken great joy in watching its metamorphosis at Shawnee Peak under the careful and inspired guidance of Chet Homer and Ed Rock.

In the fall, I had high hopes for a winter with tons of northern finches. Red spruce, balsam fir, tamarack and eastern hemlock trees were producing bumper crops of cones. These so-called mast years occur sporadically, and different tree species do not necessarily have mast years in the same years. The winter was shaping up as a marvelous smorgasbord for the finches that depend on conifer cones for their main food.

My family’s first-aid kit has seen plenty of action over the years. The tweezers have regularly removed ticks and the baby wipes have saved us from poison ivy outbreaks. The plastic card has earned a permanent place in our kit since we discovered its leech removal abilities, and we always carry small bottles of meat tenderizer and Benadryl after our run-in with yellow jackets.

March in Maine can be maddening for those who enjoy the outdoors. It can be spectacular, or just as easily, downright miserable. As we have already experienced this March, you can have sunny days in the 50s, a foot of snow, deluges of rain and these can all come in the same week.

Like a lot of weekend skiers, my quiver of skis is only one pair deep. The idea of a single “all mountain” ski is a tough one to nail down — especially here on the weather-variable East Coast — but it’s a more affordable option than different skis for every condition.