All winter long, I’ve been feeling like Tom Hanks’ character in “Cast Away."

Seems I’ve been staring at that same battered and beaten strip of fabric blowing in the wind, waiting for it to change directions. In the movie, this was the time for action. As the prevailing winds switched directions, the castaway was able to use them to his advantage when breaking through the islands’ protective barrier reef.

Without the wind at his back, he would never have made it over the break.

With this in mind, I was pleasantly surprised to walk out of my house last weekend and be hit with a rush of air that was almost 40 degrees warm! No sir, this was not the same slicing, bitter, cold-inside-your-nose kind of blast we’ve become too accustomed to these past months. Instead, this was more like a blow out the candles on your birthday type of breeze.

Now, I knew from watching my weatherman the previous night that a warmer wind was going to be coming in from the south. I can’t remember if this is the first time this has occurred this year, but it sure did feel foreign to me. More than a new direction, I hope this new wind blows lighter, more enjoyable days to each of us.

Somehow, I feel this to be the case. 

The other day I was watching a repeat of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition that featured the rebuilding of a house for a fallen soldier, Lori Piestewa, the friend of Jessica Lynch, who you may remember was the soldier rescued from an Iraqi hospital in 2003. Throughout the broadcast, the strong winds of the Arizona desert were embraced by the Native American family as a sign of Lori’s spirit surrounding the project. The winds maintained a presence throughout the entire week and were especially strong during the celebratory unveiling of the new home at the conclusion of the show.

While we rarely have sustained winds for more than a day or two here in the Northeast, I still believe they should be recognized for what they bring us. Whether it’s blowing away the snow and cold of winter or the heat and humidity of summer, a strong wind is a catalyst of change. After last weekend, I know my glass is now half full and no longer half empty. The winds told me so.

Further, while I am almost certain that it will snow once (or more) again, I feel like we’ve finally come to the tipping point where even the strongest of storms can not stop the inevitability of spring’s arrival. To be sure, surprise storms are likely to cause some frustration among travelers in February and March. However, these isolated storms generally do not instill the same long-term dread as a storm in November, December or January. 

The wind is a powerful force on our planet and has been both celebrated and feared for as long as their have been people around to witness it. Many have studied its force, but as Bob Dylan penned many years ago, “You don’t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Sometimes, you just get a sense of things starting to change.

Speaking of weather, I know that the groundhog saw his shadow the other day, but I still remain optimistic about the coming of spring. As much snow and ice as we’ve piled up over the weeks since Christmas, I’m always amazed at how quickly it ends up retreating from the ever stronger sunshine of March and April. (Insert sound effect from The Wizard of Oz here, “I’m melting!”) 

Bring on mud season.

Tim King is a freelance writer and member of the New England Outdoor Writers Association who writes from his home in Scarborough. He can be contacted at sylvan.sauntering@gmail.com