We tapped our maple trees today, and although the sky was just as blue today as it was in this photo from last year, the biggest difference was that there really isn't any snow on the ground! Out in the woods there is some ground cover, but nothing like the thigh-deep stuff we climbed thru in 2011. But the buckets are hanging, and some of the taps were even running as soon as they were pounded in, and we'll probably collect maybe tomorrow and Tuesday because the weather looks warm and sunny. Some of the nearby neighbors gathered yesterday and got thousands of gallons of sap! It should be an interesting season.

This is our old, mighty maple that sits on a hill across from the meadow. The first year we moved in he had 5 buckets hanging on his massive trunk. They didn't tap it at all this year. It is sad not to see it with even one bucket on it, but he needs his rest now, and the sap he produces he should keep to feed his weary branches. He will stand proudly and watch as the trees around him give forth their sap, as the children run and gather nearby, but from here out he will just be supervising all of the younger maples.