Springtime in many parts of the world is about the budding of trees and the greening of the earth and wafts of warming air. But spring in Vermont is instead about a release from winter. Snow is released as trickles of melt that feed rivers and streams; frost is released from the ground to turn roads into a muddy mess. Daylight lengthens, with the sun released from its low winter arc. Maple sap is released from its frozen winter bonds, to be boiled and turned into syrup.