Town meeting day is the traditional day to tap trees in Vermont. But where we live its usually way to cold to tap at the beginning of March. That doesn't stop everyone, but when you don't have a vacuum pipeline and instead use spouts and buckets (like us), you have to be a bit more judicious about when you tap, as a tap with no vacuum just won't stay open and productive as long.
However, it's been pretty warm -30's during the day and below freezing at night - and after Peter and I went down to the school and voted, we decided we would tap a few and see how the sap was running. A few, to Peter, means bring 60 buckets and see how many you can get through before chores. We did 33 before my legs stopped working (I don't do a lot of snow shoeing before sugaring starts) and (mercifully) the battery in the drill died.
It's a cheerful sound when the whole hillside is plink plink plinking sap into tin buckets and the sun is shining. Standing there, you can feel the smoky sweetness of the syrup in your mouth.
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