warm March days
sweetness of the season
sugaring off
It’s the season here in the north* when maple trees are adorned with steel buckets, and the sap flows. This winter has been very warm, and the snowmelt unseasonably early – while we still have some patches on the lawn, there is bare ground in most areas. In my town, many locals tap maple trees and collect sap. Warm days and cool nights is when the sap starts to flow, and after it’s collected, it can be boiled down (‘sugaring off’) to make maple syrup. On the weekends, some of my neighbours make this a truly community affair, and their driveway is a social hub and the locals all gather around the old stove that boils down syrup for hours on end. It’s a great time of year, and local maple syrup does make pancakes taste better.
*north is a relative concept, of course! But for many, Montreal is a northern area, and it’s certainly a perfect location for serious maple syrup production!
© Christopher M Buddle 2024
Nature's Reverie 