Above: Photo of a brown trout fresh from the Pepacton Reservoir on April 1, 2013, the first day of trout season, posted on Facebook by the Vineyard Wine Bar in Downsville.

From April 1 through October 15, it's open season on trout in New York State -- the time of year when that migratory species, Anglerus waderii, flocks to our clear, cold Catskills trout streams from far and wide.

This year, with snow and ice still clinging to the banks of many streams, the season kicked off chilly and damp. In a press release about the 2013 fishing season, the state Department of Environmental Conservation tells anglers that the fish will perk up when the weather gets more spring-like:

Above: A shot of "The Cliff" on Hunter Mountain, taken on March 27 -- in most years, a date when Catskills skiers are already putting their gear back in the attic.

Skiing on Easter Sunday? Yes indeed: All four Catskills mountains are open for business this weekend.

After last year's dismal winter, you've got to forgive local ski centers for being a little giddy about the prospect of skiing until April. Plattekill, a small family-owned ski center in Roxbury, was especially liberal with the exclamation points when they announced they'd be open March 29 through 31:

Isn't March for Spring Skiing??? It's confusing when April is next week, it's snowing like it's December and the conditions are comparable to mid-January. Now don't you just love mother nature, WE DO!!! YAY FOR SPRING!!! 

A Gilboa man was arrested recently and charged with committing two home burglaries in November of 2011, after police matched him to a fingerprint taken during the investigation. 

On Monday, March 18, New York State Police arrested 29-year-old Josh McMullen of Gilboa, who is charged with two counts of second-degree burglary for allegedly breaking into two homes on Maybie Road in Gilboa. Police say cash, food and a rifle scope were stolen in the break-ins.

According to a police press release on McMullen's arrest, the New York State Police forensic unit in Latham identified McMullen's fingerprint in early 2012, but did not track down McMullen's whereabouts until recently. The release states that McMullen has a history of burglary convictions, and has been living in several rehabilitation and halfway houses. 

McMullen was arraigned in the Town of Gilboa Court and remanded to the Schoharie County Jail in lieu of $7,500 cash or $15,000 bond. State police are working with the Schoharie County District Attorney’s Office.

Above: A sign at the entrance to Belleayre Mountain, a state-owned ski resort whose management was transferred from the Department of Environmental Conservation to the Olympic Regional Development Authority in 2012. Source: Belleayre Mountain's Facebook page.

State comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is worried about the finances of the Olympic Regional Development Authority, a public authority that operates several Adirondack ski centers, and recently took over management of Belleayre Mountain in the Catskills. This week, DiNapoli announced that his office will conduct a full audit of ORDA's financial practices.

Snowdrops are beginning to bloom in the Catskill mountains -- which means crocuses can't be far behind. Photo taken in front of the New Kingston Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, March 27.

Got a keen eye for backyard biology? By watching when the plants in your neighborhood begin to bloom, you can help scientists track the progress of climate change. Backyard phenologists with a yen for citizen science can head to Nature's Notebook or Project Budburst, two national networks that recruit volunteer nature-observers from around the country to keep track of their local signs of spring.