Sugar Shack Sunday

Yesterday, Anthony, Annabelle and I took part in a true rite of Spring. We drove over the frost-heaving roads to the woods at the edge of Sebago Lake where a small, sun-bleached, wood shack sat in the Spring sunshine exhaling the sweet aroma of boiling maple syrup. In Maine, March 22 is Maple Day! Apparently, in the Northeast, there are 2-3 short weeks of maple syrup harvesting (made later and shorter every year, thanks to global warming!) that occur before the twigs of the Sugar Maple bud out. On Maple Day over 40 sugar shacks opened their doors to yuppies and back woodsies alike, to share in the maple love-maple cotton candy, maple candies, maple ice cream replete with maple syrup sauce, brautwurst with onions, peppers smothered in maple syrup, and, yes, even a bluegrass band singing praises of amber goodness.

The sunny celebration day was one of the funnest Spring fests I have ever taken part in, most likely because it exhaults one of my favorite foodstuffs, but also because it heralds the coming warmth of Spring and Summer after one long, cold Maine winter. The snow is finally melting in our yard (we're down to a measely foot or so) and I'm beginning to understand why Mainers revel so much in the warmth once it arrives. As we noticed when we moved here in June, there is a heightened sense of enthusiasm about summer here, one obviously born out of winter antithesis. On Maple Day, as we revelled in the smell of sausages and maple syrup condensation and slogged our way through unexpectedly deep mud pits alongside happy, galosh-ed children, I too was giddy. It all reminded me of how true the saying is: without sorrow, we can truly know no joy.

As for our lovely daughter, I can't ever put into words how excited I am to experience the joys of our first Spring together as a family. On Maple Day, Annabelle peered over the edge of her snugli, safe in the perch that Daddy provides so well, to watch a grizzled, old man in a John Deere hat stand next to a steaming vat of tree sap becoming one of the sweetest elixirs afforded modern man: Grade A Dark Amber. My only wish was that 4-month olds could remember such days, but it's all the more reason to go again next year.

Here's the link to some pics and a video:

http://picasaweb.google.com/CassnAnthony/FebAndMar2009#