Not so sappy: writing prompts in nature

When the sap is running
 
There's a house on the corner
where they tap the
maple trees

Three trees, one bucket for each

There's another house
where they used to
tap the trees,
but don't anymore

I wish they did

That was the house
where they put out
the metal buckets

The house that still taps the
trees uses plastic buckets,
sky blue

If the light is right, you can
see the sap level through the
plastic and watch it rise, surge
even, from one day to the next

It's fascinating really, to see
how much sap is released
from the tree

With the metal buckets, you
can't see the sap level,
but I prefer them anyway

Camouflaged against the bark
of the tree and the still-bare
landscape, they cast a
knowing silhouette ...

A reminder that, although
it's hard to see, change
is upon us

Cool nights will give way to
warmer days, the sap will flow,
and the flowers will, once
again blossom

Makes me wish I had a maple tree

--------

Branching out ...
The maple sugaring poem is a modified version of a piece I wrote a while ago. It came to mind when I was thinking of making a pop-up book and needed something to pop. It's the next step in my book-making journey.

Studying how to create a structure ... one that will open and close properly has me snipping, folding, and gluing long past my bedtime.

This is a prototype. Rough, inefficient, and utterly captivating. I'll keep you posted on how it's going.