It’s the shoulder season, a time of transition, time to be thinking about open water and clear ground while still enjoying the waning vestiges of winter. For some of us, clear ground will come sooner than for others, but I’m told spring is on the way. The crocuses are popping on the southern side of my house.

I’ve seized on a few opportunities to get into the pool with my kayak, sort of a late winter elixir to hasten the seasonal transition.

As sure as the days are three hours longer and daytime highs have nudged into the 40s, spring is coming. On a cross-country ski outing at the Orono Land Trust last Sunday, during one of the many rest stops, we watched springtails (sometimes called snow fleas) hop about on the snow. And I swear I saw a mosquito-like critter flying by from the direction of the Penobscot River.

This week I’ve got a few more events to tell you about, another sign of spring. So get out your calendar and mark down a few dates that are sure to help clear away the winter doldrums and get us through mud season. I have information on Maine Island Trail, the third annual Maine Guide Rendezvous and Penobscot Riverkeepers.

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Calling all guides. The third Annual Maine Guide Rendezvous is scheduled to take place June 10-12 at Northern Outdoors and Maine Outdoor Center at the Gadabout Gaddis Airport in Bingham. For your $30 you get two nights of camping, all workshops and lunch June 11. Shell out another $12 and you get the barbecue and celebration on June 11.

Workshop topics include:

. Client relations (communicating with your clients, risk management, special populations, guiding women, Leave No Trace);

. Natural history (river life, geology of the Kennebec and Penobscot watersheds, geomorphology of Maine’s rivers);

. Conservation (benefits of conservation easements, conservation opportunities, St. John River, Allagash Wilderness Waterway);

For more information,, or to reserve your space at the Maine Guide Rendezvous 2001, call Jeff McEvoy at 800-287-2345, Ext. 218 or e-mail him at jmcevoy@nrcm.org.

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I heard from Jo Eaton the other day. She was wearing her Penobscot Riverkeepers hat and had her hands clasped in prayerlike fashion as she begged for community support.

“I am looking for retired teachers to help deliver educational programs. The training for that begins on Wednesday, March 28. I am looking for people who could volunteer at least four or five days between May 1 and June 15.”

If you’re unfamiliar with the Riverkeepers, Eaton is quick to explain: “Penobscot Riverkeepers is an educational program under the Penobscot River and Bay Institute. The goals of the program are to deliver educational programs about the environment, history and culture of this watershed, focusing each year on a theme and the natural resources of the [Penobscot] watershed.” This year, by the way, the theme is “Sawmills to Ships: Lumbering on the Penobscot.”

Each year since 1993, the Riverkeepers have traveled by war canoes down the Penobscot River, stopping in communities along the way to teach children and adults about the culture and history of the river, with the goal of bettering the environment and economy for present and future generations.

At community stops along the river, the Riverkeepers deliver their programs in classrooms or beside the river for pupils in kindergarten through grade four, and in their war canoes on the river for pupils in grades 5-12. They also deliver their message through a series of articles in this newspaper.

So, if you’re looking to do some community-oriented work, Eaton will be happy to have you. She needs a few volunteers who have some time to do data entry and simple, supervised office work as well as retired teachers who might be interested in teaching on an occasional basis. Training for educational volunteers starts Wednesday, March 28, so get on the horn and call Eaton at 827-0369 for more details.

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Now, on to the Maine Island Trail! From 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ellsworth City Hall, you will have a chance to comment on plans for several of the islands for the coming season. The Maine Island Trail Association will present a slide show of the Merchant Row islands: Hells Half Acre, Steves, Harbor, Wheat and Potato. Trail Manager Rachael Nixon said MITA members will also explain proposed management projects to help visitors stay on the trails and camp in the appropriate campsites. Also up for discussion is campsite designation (using a small sign: “Campsite A,” for example), site bounding using wood chips or spruce poles to mark the perimeter, and site hardening (a second tent platform will be built on Hells Half Acre this summer).

“All of the proposed strategies are being piloted this summer to see if we can help slow down the effects of increased use. Last season in the Merchant Row area, we observed levels of use higher than in previous years, despite the somewhat unfavorable weather. With the kayak tour industry booming, we need to brace ourselves for increased use in the upcoming years,” Nixon said.

MITA is looking for comments on the need for a caretaker in the Merchants Row area for the summer 2002 season. What islands should be visited? What role should the caretaker assume?

The Ellsworth meeting is the last of three meetings to which the public has been invited to discuss MITA’s plans. The organization is looking for your participation in its planning process. MITA depends on voluntary compliance with island-use guidelines and to that end, the more people who participate in this and future meetings, the better will be the understanding of why use guidelines are necessary.

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This just in: The Penobscot Area Trekkers and Hikers and the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club will celebrate the end of a great winter and the promise of a beautiful spring by hiking the North Ridge Trail of Cadillac Mountain on Sunday the 25th. Hikers will meet in the parking lot by The Brown Bag in Brewer at 8:30 a.m. and at McDonald’s in Ellsworth at 9 a.m. Call Kathryn McGloin at 581-3725 for more information.

Jeff Strout’s column is published on Thursdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.