Sap rising...

Sometimes spring shows its face while still maintaining the monotone colors of winter. Dull metal sap pails sprouting from ancient maple trees like this one make my heart sing. The buckets catch the sap as it rises from the deep roots up to the branches of the tree. The collected sap is cooked slowly so the water evaporates, and what remains is the very taste of New England... maple syrup. The maple trees within miles of my house are all sporting buckets now, so that later I can pour the harvest over ice cream with walnuts, or sop it up in hot, fresh buttermilk pancakes. Spring has a flavor!