Well, maybe not all about maple. In Vermont, the month kicks off with Town Meeting Day. On the first Tuesday of March, all across the state, Vermont citizens converge on their town hall to discuss and vote about all things local.
As you might imagine, it’s a lively occurrence. Most votes are cast with a simple yea or nea, but some require colorful slips of paper in a secret ballot box.
The view out the window is not to be ignored—quintessential Vermont.
I love this time of year, though. Morning walks are cold (brisk 😀), snow still coats the ground for skiing and snowshoeing, and the air is filled with the smoky-sweet scent of maple syrup in the making. Windows down when driving past a sugar shack with steam rising from the roof!
It’s the time of year where I feel inspired to end my winter hibernation, grab my camera, and explore.
When friends invited us to watch as they tended their boiling sap, I jumped. And when we parked in their driveway and saw the buckets hanging from their trees, we laughed, remembering the year we drove all over Vermont, determined to take photos of tin buckets.
All in a day’s adventure.
Our friends tended the fire, and I sampled the final product. Mmm.
And then—I came home and googled all about tapping trees. Because…wouldn’t it be cool to have my very own maple buckets to take pictures of? Oh yeah, and sap for making our own syrup?
That’s a whole new project. (Wonder if I can get Greg on board…)
Still on my maple kick (and seriously, why not?) look at me getting all domestic like, making a maple pie. I found a recipe so easy even I had to give it a try. It’s subtly sweet, creamy, and ridiculously delicious. My taste buds are thanking me even if my waistline is not.
In my next newsletter I’ll be sharing the recipe for this pie as well as talking about how my meanders inspire my writing. 😀 There will definitely be a dead body in a sugar shack (fictionally speaking, of course!).
And there you have it—March on my mountain. I’d love to hear what you’re up to.
Until next time, be well!
8 responses to “March is sweet (it’s all about maple)”
Fun to see in your photos what’s going on in your neck of the woods. Our whole family loves maple syrup except me – I don’t dislike it, but I rarely use it. However, that pie sure looks yummy! The sun is shining here today and temps have risen (for today) into the 40’s. More snow on the way, of course.
Thanks Barb! I love maple syrup, but don’t use it often. It’s sugar, after all, and I need to watch out for that. But Greg and I sure enjoyed the pie (haha!)
I do love seeing the buckets hanging from our trees, but this year we are trying bags and so far, they are working well. I should have had my husband hang a couple of buckets just to take photos of them. I cannot wait to get your newsletter with the recipe for that delicious pie.
There’s something about those buckets. Around here, you mostly see all the plastic tubing snaking through the trees, and some sort of huge container to collect all the sap. It makes sense, but the buckets are so darned charming.
I sure wish I could drum up the enthusiasm that you have for late winter/early spring. For me it’s all about the seasonal affective disorder and fear of freezing to death at little league games. Your photos are wonderful and you ALMOST make me want to tramp through the snow in search of buckets.
Late winter, yes. Early spring, not so much… It won’t be spring here for another month or so, no matter what the calendar says, and tramping through snow is one of my mostest favoritest things to do!
Today was a celebration of maple sugaring in NH and we had been tempted to go for a drive. But, after a walk to the library and the very windy day and chilly temps we decided that just buying in a store would be OK. That pie looks so good and with a hot cup of coffee or tea must have been even better, Karen.
As for what’s going on with ourselves, it’s all about road trips. We recently spent 3 days in North Conway as long time NJ friends visited there too. This week, we’re going on a road trip and staying in VT for a few days at the Norwich Inn. Hopefully, there will not be snow which cancelled our visit last week.
I don’t blame you for foregoing the maple syrup outing. The trip to North Conway sounds like fun. And yes to the snow! We’re ready to be done with it, although it’s still a little early to call it spring around here.