Ever see those buckets and taps hanging off the trees this time of year, in upstate New York or Vermont? Yes, it's sugar-maple time, and the trick is to outsmart the early thaw that comes earlier every year as the maple trees experience the effects of climate change. More in words and images on the process of syrup salvage, at blog.amynelsonhahn.info
Maple time
The slightest bit of crunch
still on the ground
reminds us that when snow
coats maple -- oh
the delicious frost abounds;
children and creatures alike
know it well, but then
we have to wait for the silver taps
to tell of their fortunes,
their steady ping-ping echoing
from the drive -- the surety
of golden-pure sugar sap.
It seems that all the woodland
thrives and strives to hear
that sound, come the early
of the first sugar time,
the weather of March
and of our first prime --
it reminds us up and down,
the indelicacy of winter,
the gentleness of spring.
Copyright (c) 2012 Amy Nelson Hahn
view with images 20120317_59, 20120317_62, 20120317_60, and 20120317_58 from photos.amynelsonhahn.info or visit blog.amynelsonhahn.info
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