Pic Today 3/30/13

TAPPING MAPLE'S

SWEET GOODNESS

Early Spring, even in Missouri

(when nights are cold, and days reach 40-50˚),

the sap starts running in local maple trees.

My neighbor taps the sweet goodness

with sap buckets, collecting gallons of

colorless liquid at the end of each day.

At 2% sugar, the maple sap is tasteless,

showing no sweetness.

But he slowly boils the sap down into

a familiar amber syrup

and bottles his own sweet maple syrup.

(Or lets it boil down into sweet

maple sugar candy.)

Yes, it's so delicious

and easy to produce.