The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/113992
Patiently Waiting for Spring Awakening Can you imagine the smell of spring display in a few weeks. And then, this is between the snowflakes that fall? what I can imagine. The snowflakes just don't seem as To start, as you notice the buds plump though they're as serious about this and full, trim a few unruly branches, such anymore. as those that might interfere with healthy Have you heard the red-winged blacktree growth and put them into a vase of bird's call? water. We heard them here in East Meredith Place the vase on your table, and enjoy weeks before Groundhog Day. an up-close-and-personal flowery show. And those of you who are "soft seers" As they flower, remember this will be a — that is those who walk with taking in a very short lived experience as they droop full range of view, scanning one's entire and fade quickly. field rather than focusing in on one thing Yet, there's another possibility of use — I'm sure many of you have noticed the here. Wouldn't they just make a lovely change of light and smell in the air, and presentation on a platter of food? that it's sugar maple (Acer saccharum) And so, yes, of course, they're edible, time. however only in small amounts since they Of course, we see so many trees lined have a very dry sour flavor that would not with sap buckets around the country its go over well if used in abundance. hard to miss this yearly tradition. Add a few blossoms — three or four on But, have you noticed another maple tree? Red maple (Acer rubrum), too, are starting their life cycles by plumping up their buds for the growing season. Get up close to them and compare the buds of red maple and sweet maple, and you may be surprised at the difference. Red maple bud is red, rounder, broader and clustered into short stalks where as the sugar maple bud is brown in color, having a longer, narrower pointed bud. Red maple is a favorite springtime tree for me because of its blossom showiness. As many of you can't wait to taste the first of sweet maple's flavorful syrup, for me, I look forward to red maple flowers. It's my springtime eye candy as it makes a splash of firework-like colors, each only the size of the top of my thumb. Those blossoms, so delicate and fragile, may be plucked from their twig ends Views of red maple buds. as they make their striking top of pancakes drizzled with sweet maple syrup; or top a few on a green salad that has some reds (grape tomatoes), blues (blueberries) and yellows (yellow peppers); top a green smoothie with 1 blossom, or a whole-grain or gluten-free raisin muffin after it's cooked; as a side accent to pretty a platter or to top off a sweet relish. Thus, be on the lookout, nature-lovers. In a few weeks or at the next sugar maple fest, don't forget to look up to the woods or hedgerow to red maple, and remember this sister tree's flowers — eye candy, for sure. 3moonsisters@gmail.com. She will host "Weeds, Leaves, Seeds & Shoots: Balance Your Budget — Steward the Land," a wild foods plant identification series, starting April 24. Each class will have hands-on outdoor nature experiences and feature how-to prepare wild plants into table food. Locations will include East Meredith, Bovina, Margaretville, Oneonta and more. For more information, call UhlmannBower at 278-9635 or email her at 3moonsisters@gmail.com. To share your thoughts or recipe ideas with Marguerite Uhlmann-Bower, email her at Contributed March 7, 2013 O-Town Scene 9