Spring has sprung -if not in your neighborhood, at least on the show circuit. (In my yard four crocuses were in bloom next to the foundation.)

Snow is disappearing as fast as $2,000 wedding dresses on sale for $100 at the Calais Marden’s. Faster, even, than women’s foundations at the annual Filene’s Basement sale.

Last Friday, the vernal equinox, we ushered spring onto the scene with warm temperatures and the annual Boating Expo at Bangor Auditorium and the Sportsmen’s Show at the University of Maine in Orono. Farther south, Kittery Trading Post kicked off its annual New England Paddlesports Show at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. For those of us addicted to water travel, it was nirvana.

You may not have thought that anyone who gets around by paddle would find something at a power boat show, but you’d be wrong. Aside from getting a kick out of looking over shiny, overpowered, overpriced, gas-guzzling water rockets, I love looking for the out-of-the-ordinary. I found out that Hammond Lumber’s Wilber Eugley could deliver me a super bright yellow plastic float for my nonexistent lakeside cottage.

More shocking and real, however, was the message delivered by the Department of Environmental Protection about milfoil and hydrilla, invasive plants that will choke a waterway in no time. Maine is waging an information war to get the boating public tuned into these awful plants that are easily transported between lakes as hitchhikers attached to boats or trailers. Even tiny pieces of plant can get transplanted and form new colonies.

Helping to float that message home at the opening of the show were Dan Martin, commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; Matt Dunlap, House chairman of the DIF&W committee; Edward Logue, regional director of DEP; Paul Gregory, DEP, Augusta; Tim Glidden, State Planning Office; Nichi Farnham, Bangor city council chairwoman; Mike Crowley, Bangor city councilor; and Jonathan Daniels, Bangor’s director of business and economic development.

Hydrilla, commonly found in aquariums, costs Florida $18 million or more a year to fight. In Maine it is present in one York County pond, likely because some unthinking person dumped a fish tank there. The DEP and DIF&W are trying to get every boater aware of the threat invasive water plant species present, and is funding this effort by charging all boaters $10 for a sticker that must be displayed. This spring and summer the DEP will spend $600,000 in educational and invasive-plant eradication programs. Let’s hope we don’t have to mimic Florida in this battle.

Even folks who paddle or sail their boats or fly their float planes should be aware of the problem. Inspect your craft for bits of plants and wash them off when departing one water body and heading for another.

Another little trinket I found, for you hikers out there, is a Web site administered by Randal L. Carr of Monson called Appalachian Web Design: www.appalachianwebdesign.com.

A part of Carr’s site has a tool for Appalachian Trail through-hikers who send supplies to themselves to be held at post offices along the trail for the purpose of resupply. Local postmasters will hold the packages (usually 5-10 days’ worth of food) for pickup when the hiker arrives in town.

Carr’s site has an address label tool so you can make up mailing labels for your packages. There’s a drop-down menu with each of the post offices along the route. You pick a date for expected pickup. All you need to do is fill in the blanks on the form and print out your label. If you’re planning the big hike, this simple tool will make one part of the logistics simple. Check it out!

On Saturday I was a piece of the Sportsmen’s Show. I helped Karen Francoeur of Castine Kayak Adventures demonstrate kayak rescues in Wallace Pool. She and her students from Washington County Technical College then demonstrated canoe rescues. Later I got a chance to wander among the ATVs and bass boats for a while. And I took a minute or two to stop by the Bangor Daily News booth to check in with John Holyoke (who’s a real prize, by the way) and his new Brittany pup that I think needs a few uppers. I had to look real close to see if it was breathing. It didn’t resemble in any way the hyper retrievers I watched earlier in the pool as they worked two or more training decoys.

I have to admit that while I was waiting for my turn in the pool, I got an itch to do some fishing. Guide Carroll Ware held the audience’s attention as he demonstrated flycasting from a canoe in the pool. It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to get out and cast feathers upon the waters, and watching him made me vow to get out this year. I’ll have to plan a trip. Maybe I can get the NEWS to offer me up as a prize … how about a salmon fishing trip with me and a guide for a few days on one of New Brunswick’s premier rivers? If fishing’s not your cup of tea, how about we go on a kayak exploration of the Baja Peninsula? But I digress …

To cement in my mind the fact that spring had arrived, I signed on with Francoeur for a whirlwind trip to Durham, N.H., on Sunday to attend the New England Paddlesports Show run by Kittery Trading Post. It’s primarily a three-day retail sales event (held in New Hampshire where there’s no sales tax), but the real fun is talking with the manufacturers’ representatives who are on hand to answer your every question. (There is a good selection of lectures and pool demonstrations, including a couple by Derek Hutchinson, the leading international sea kayaking authority, but we didn’t have enough time to catch one.)

I don’t know about you, but I like looking at outdoor gear catalogs. But even better, I like being able to touch and feel all this stuff I see in the catalogs. An event like this or the Sportsmen’s Show provides that opportunity. Needless to say, I did my best to get my hands on as much paddling gear as I could. And in so doing, I made a few decisions on gear I’ll be buying this spring. I also was able to add a couple of items to my wish list.

One item I’ve been looking for is a towline. I have one to use, but it’s bulky. And looking at a picture in a catalog just doesn’t cut it for me. So when I stopped by the Current Designs booth, I was pleasantly surprised to be able to check out theirs. Turns out it’s just what I’ve been looking for; it’s compact, durable, easy to deploy, easy to restuff after using, and it looks like it’ll serve me well.

And finally, this reminder for all of us who head out on spring’s opening waters. This comes from Al Johnson, the recreational boating safety specialist for the First Coast Guard District. He was handing out safety information at the Coast Guard’s booth at the Kittery Trading Post show, and is one of the planners for our third annual Paddle Smart from the Start Safety Symposium here in Bangor on May 9 at the YMCA.

“A sudden plunge into cold water, through a capsizing or a fall overboard, can be fatal,” Johnson said. “Water temperatures are in the 36-degree range, and that’s cold. … Be prepared in the event of a sudden cold water immersion.”

“How?” you ask? Wear a life jacket that is securely fastened and a comfortable wet suit or dry suit. “Some boaters still don’t realize that your life jacket is your first step to survive. … In cold water your body has to be protected from the frigid water temperatures and a wet suit or dry suit is essential,” he said.

Additionally, he recommended taking along survival gear such as neoprene gloves to protect the hands and prolong grip strength, a wool hat to reduce heat loss, and a kit for signaling rescuers that includes a mirror, flares, a whistle, and a light. A small, reasonably priced, waterproof hand-held VHF radio is beneficial for sending a distress call and notifying rescuers of your position and predicament, he added.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or 1-800-432-7964 extension 8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.