GUNK REGIONAL – There were times this winter in the Hudson Valley, or indeed anywhere from Maine to Minnesota or even Carolina and Georgia, when you might have been forgiven for thinking that global warming was over, that instead of a return to the Jurassic, we were returning to the Ice Age. February, in particular, will live long in many folks' memories... and not in a nice way.

But take a glance at the NASA temperature data map for the month of March 2014, and something weird jumps out at you. Northeastern North America, Quebec to Maryland, is deep blue to purple, way colder than the mean temperature established 1951 to 80. But the rest of the world, not so. While we froze and shoveled, a huge swathe of Russia and Siberia saw record warmth. Europe, which last year was going through a mini-ice age, was warmer than average with no snow.

Things were strange, like that picture of the Iditarod sled-dog race that blazed across the internet and showed dogs hauling a sled over bare rock because Alaska didn't have snow, either.

And California? Warmest winter on record, more than 4 degrees above the average of the past century; and the California drought continues, readying to show up on our supermarket shelves this year, although its effects are already being felt. The prices of all the bounty that California grows and ships to the rest of the country are rising, from almonds and grapes to lettuce, avocados, tomatoes and zucchini. Much of what we eat grows there and if they don't have water, then they won't be growing it this year.

Which is an opportunity for our local growers. Not that they're exactly counting any chickens before they're hatched. Growers in this part of the world are cautious, always mindful of the way things can go wrong.

Still, with spring slowly, unsteadily getting to its feet, there is optimism in the air. And Deborah Dewan of the Rondout Valley Growers' Association is well aware of that.

"People have been planting, putting in peas and greens. There's no question, activity is picking up," she said in an interview this week. As for what is happening in California, "Something like that makes our farmers more competitive, and it's a boon for our region and for buying local. We're very fortunate to have an abundance of water, though we don't have as much land as they do in California so we really need to preserve the farmland we still have."

Danny Schoonmaker, of Saunderskill Farms, has been out there planting.

"Yes, we did plant the peas and we put some sweet corn out underneath plastic," he said this week following Wednesday's surprise snow. "We also have some strawberries growing in the greenhouse and we might be able to start harvesting them in a couple of weeks."

From the fields though?

"Asparagus will be the earliest thing, but with the weather the way it's been it will take a couple of weeks," Schoonmaker continued. "Then the peas, then the outside strawberries, end of May, beginning of June. If we raise some tomatoes in the greenhouse they'd be ready by about then, too."

Nick Cipollone of Barthels Market in Wawarsing has also been planting peas.

"Yes, peas and spinach, and some other salad greens, arugula, lettuce," he said this week. "We're waiting though for the asparagus to pop through, should be any day now."

So how might the California drought affect local growers here, we asked?

"It's a hard thing, but sometimes the misfortunes of others can benefit us locally," said Schoonmaker at Saunderskill's. "For instance a few years back that drought in the Midwest sent the market for grain and corn and soybeans soaring as much as 60 percent, and we did very well with ours. It's much easier to sell it all when it's a short crop."

And that's a key thing for local growers.

"The best thing could be that we just sell it all and not have a surplus that goes to waste," the veteran Accord farmer went on. "It's easy to grow sometimes, but the hard part is selling it. Farmers are naturally good growers, but not naturally marketers."

While we wait for asparagus to "pop out" and begin the parade of local produce, Earth Day — on April 22 — is fast approaching and there are some interesting events scheduled.

Transition Rosendale is holding an opening celebration for Earth Day at 5:30 p.m. at the Creative Co-op, 402 Main Street. Dina Falconi, local author of "Foraging and Feasting" will launch a ten day event featuring free workshops on local, sustainable, affordable food preparation. Check out the schedule at www.facebook.com/TransitionRosendale.

Also on the 22nd, Mount St Mary College in Newburgh will host a talk on climate change and show the award winning documentary "Carbon for Water." The talk is free and open to the public at 7 p.m. at the Dominican Center, 330 Powell Avenue, Newburgh. Adam Kalkstein, assistant professor of geography and environmental engineering at the US Military Academy, will discuss "Separating Fact from Fiction in the Climate Change Debate."

Then on April 26, the Town of Rochester will hold its annual Earth Day Road Cleanup. Residents are invited to join the annual community clean up and help keep the town beautiful. To participate in the road clean-up, contact the Youth Commission office to register your spot and get your orange bags. You must register so the highway department will know to pick up the full bags. Call 626-2115 for more information. There will be a pizza party afterwards for all participants.

Finally, Dig Safely New York has a timely reminder for people who may be planting trees on Earth Day, a popular pursuit. Approximately 25 percent of damage done to underground utility lines occurs from people digging without first checking by calling 811 at least three days in advance in order to have any utility lines marked out. The 811 number leads to the Dig Safely New York center in East Syracuse.

It's important to do this, because underground lines can be at various depths because of erosion or previous digging projects, and cutting a utility line can cause injuries, fines and hugely inconvenient power outages.

Enjoy the spring, Easter... and Earth Day!