The sap buckets are ready in the village of Shepherd, but the weather's been too cold for the sap to run.

Along Orchard Street, the ancient maples are tapped and ready. A little bit of sap has dribbled out on the sunny side of the trees, but the sap run's later this year than it has been recently.

Maple Sap runs best when the temperature at night falls below freezing, but spikes up into the 40s or so during the day.

Once the sap starts running, the remaining snow pack probably will help keep the sap sweet.

Meanwhile, the buckets are waiting all over the village on the hundreds of maple trees.

Technology marches on, but sometimes the old ways -- the galvanized sap bucket - works best.

Organizers at the Shepherd Sugarbush say they're confident they'll have enough sap for the Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival in late April.
(Photos by Mark Ranzenberger)