Hadley, Massachusetts, 3-1-13

After enduring the winter, maple trees begin to produce their sweet flavorful syrup in early March. There are over 300 producers of maple of syrup in Massachusetts, most of them in the western part of the state, turning out over 50,000 gallons of maple syrup each year. At this time of year in Hadley we begin to see galvanized collection buckets hung on old maple trees, always a sure sign of early spring. Sugarhouses begin to open, serving pancakes with new maple syrup. The closest to me and one of my very favorites is the North Hadley Sugar Shack, run by Joe Boisvert and his family. This photograph was taken at a maple tree near their farm.