Sugarin'

My first thought was to name this "5 Things you can eat in your backyard", but until I come up with the entries for the other 4 (squirrel, raspberries/blueberries, dandelions, and groundhog anyone?), the title'll stand as is.

A few weeks ago I was trying to organize a fishing trip upstate, but my buddy Ed said he couldn't go because he would be "sugarin'". I thought he was just making up another lame excuse, until I went over to his house on Sunday to check out the operation, and found this scene straight out of a William Faulkner novel/Robert Frost poem.

How can you not smile at the simplicity and charm of it. If you took a portrait last Sunday of your family, what would it look like? Were you making something together, with your hands, from the bounty of the land around you? Doubtful. This isn't supposed to be a detailed how-to guide to happiness – but a nearby sugarbush, a couple dozen spiles and pails, a wood boiler, patience, and tons of sweat equity for a few jars of homemade liquid gold – what better Valentine to family and love is there?