After months of fits and starts (Snowstorms! Droughts! Freezing temps! Record-breaking highs!), we’ve reached the end of ski season. Skis and boards are getting stored, replaced with golf clubs, boats and hiking boots.

Maine bicyclists, this writer included, often dream of living in a state or country that allows year-round bicycling without cold and snow from December though March.

Deer pie, bear meatloaf, duck kebabs and moose sausage are not unusual snacks to find at a Maine camp or rod and gun club potluck dinner.

One thing all winter sports enthusiasts learned this winter is that Mother Nature is a fickle friend, and she’ll occasionally let us down.

Spring birding in Maine is phenomenal. Many birds, like warblers and flycatchers, return to Maine from more southerly wintering areas to nest. Other birds, like most sandpipers and plovers, are passage migrants; we get to enjoy them briefly as they migrate through Maine to more northerly breeding grounds.

Going into the winter of 2011-12, the Farmer’s Almanac predicted a wickedly cold and snowy season for New England. “Clime and punishment” was in the forecast, with above-average snowfall and below-average temperatures on deck.