The days grow a little longer, the sun is a little warmer, and the snow is starting to melt. Soon the trees will be in bud and the birds will be winging their way back north.
Nights are still cold, though, and conditions are perfect for the maple sap to rise.
As soon as the moon is right, or the wind from the southwest blows a certain way, the maple syrup producers head into the sugar bush and begin tapping their trees. The buckets fill with a sweetish, watery liquid that will be boiled down to make the delicately flavoured syrup everyone loves on pancakes. In the Sugar Shack Don't for a moment think that maple syrup is just for breakfast. Then everyone goes outside for the traditional hot maple taffy, served on a bed of fresh snow and scooped up with wooden sticks. The syrup starts as a watery sap that's collected drop by drop by little spouts inserted directly into the tree trunk.