Using many photos from my files, I created a setting for Naomi. This is the first time that I have painted a view of the sugar bush where the focus is not on the gathering activity. As with all of the paintings in this book, this piece changed a good deal over the month in which it was created.

This was the only piece in the book over which Nan and I had had a debate with the editor. Kathryn's impressions of sugaring seemed to be founded on the Quebec experience of sugaring off in a huge cauldron outside, not in a sugar shack.

To see the other paintings in Winterberries and Apple Blossoms, click on the month: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December.