Vernal Equinox: Kindlings

WEATHER: Already this two-day-old photo looks dated. Today’s Vernal Equinox sun shrink-wrapped (shrunk-wrapped?) the snow on the picnic table.

HOW’S IT RUNNING? Inside Sap Central, sap beaded into the tub when the sun was at its mid-afternoon height of power.

I know a family who celebrates the vernal equinox by cross-country skiing for 12 hours from sunup to sundown. Today I celebrated the blinding, healing sun while walking back and forth between the house and the sugarhouse (as I do multiple times every day). I savor the thought that in Svalbard, where one of the equinox skiers temporarily works, there are 12 hours of daylight just like here; in Nome, Alaska where I have family, it’s the same. Across the globe, light and dark achieve a moment of symmetry. It’s a thought I’m holding on to for a while, which is much, much longer than a moment.

NOTABLE MAPLES:

Elyse Moore, longtime neighbor and Nebraska Knoll master boiler in the early 2000’s, sends this photo dispatch from Shelburne, Massachusetts where she now lives.

This august maple in Shelburne, Massachusetts must be older than our country. Imagine the stories. Photo by Elyse Moore.

This sugarbush appears to be a solid stand of maples, unlike Nebraska Knoll’s. I’d guess that the sap from these trees is less than half as sweet as the sap from the elder in the first picture. Photo by Elyse Moore.

Sugaring thrives in northwestern MA. These folks are industrious: they sugar AND run a restaurant. Photo by Elyse Moore.

7 thoughts on “Vernal Equinox: Kindlings”

Michael says:

March 20, 2018 at 9:11 pm

I was at the sugar house this past Saturday and treated like gold by the female owner. She shared knowledge and a great taste of some dark maple syrup, thank you .

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1. nebraskaknoll says:
  
  March 20, 2018 at 9:24 pm
  
  You’re welcome, Michael. You met me, Audrey, who moonlights as Blog Editor.
  
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Kay says:

March 20, 2018 at 9:32 pm

I hope its another day in paradise at Sap Central! Shrunk wrapped is more fun to say.

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nebraskaknoll says:

March 20, 2018 at 9:45 pm

HaHa. Here I am practicing the two, and it’s clear that shrunk wrapped is not only more fun to say but also easier on the tongue. (Note the sound friendships in the second part of that sentence.)

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1. Kay says:
  
  March 21, 2018 at 11:14 am
  
  I love word twists too. And emojis. If wordpress had emojis, I would be all over it.
  
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charlie says:

March 22, 2018 at 12:19 am

wow…lotsa snow…awesome….I vote shrunk also….good imagination…I never woulda thunk of snow like that 🙂

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Nina says:

March 22, 2018 at 9:43 pm

Shrapped?

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