My aunt who lives in Maine posted the following on Facebook on the 41st birthday of her middle child this past Tuesday, March 4: "When my daughter Debbie was born in Holyoke, MA, in 1973, it was a beautiful spring day with temps in the 70s. This morning in Bridgton, Maine, it was 17 BELOW ZERO."

On Wednesday, my friend Jean posted this on Facebook: "Ha. We're getting a few flurries and the snow is falling in a weary, unenthusiastic way, as if even it's tired of itself."

Well said, my friends.

Here we are, the second weekend of March, and it's time to set the clocks ahead on Saturday night. This is the worst weekend of the year in my book; losing an hour of sleep is never good. But usually springing ahead means it feels like spring.

Not so much this year.

But the temperatures are supposed to tease the 40-degree mark this weekend, so instead of continuing to whine about winter, maybe we should embrace what's left of it. After all, I guarantee we all will be complaining in the middle of July.

So here are a couple of ideas, both courtesy of the Trustees of Reservations.

On Saturday, March 8, head down to Sheffield to the lovely Bartholomew's Cobble between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. for one of the last "Hot Chocolate Saturdays" of the season. Free with admission, the event allows visitors to grab some snowshoes, get some fresh air and exercise, and chat over a cup of hot cocoa in the Cobble Visitor Center. Click here http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/berkshires/hot-choc-sat-mar8.html for more details.

On Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9, head over to the equally pretty Notchview Reservation in Windsor for Nordic ski lessons for all ages. From 1 to 2 p.m., participants can build muscle, balance, and aerobic fitness and chase away the winter blues while learning how to Nordic ski, featuring small group beginner lessons aimed at increasing participants enjoyment of the sport. The program meets when there is enough snow to ski, which there still is in my backyard in Williamstown, where my daughter has just taken up the sport of cross-country skiing back and forth our acre of cleared land. Visit http://www.thetrustees.org/things-to-do/berkshires/nordic-ski-lessons-mar8.html for more details.

Or, you can just stay in Sunday and take a nap to make up for that lost hour of sleep. Or better yet, turn on the television, because here's the surest sign of spring: At noon on Sunday, March 9, NESN will show an exhibition game between the Red Sox and Pirates. That's right, I'm talking baseball, folks. Can warmth really be far behind?

Rebecca Dravis is the community editor at iBerkshires. She can be reached at rdravis@iberkshires.com.