noons
She was glad , too , that her aunt had fixed the sugaring-off for a time when she could be present . But neither at church on Sunday nor during the week that followed did she catch sight of his face , and though Hughie came in with excited reports now and then of having seen or heard of Ranald , Maimie had to content herself with these ; and , indeed , were it not that the invitation had already been given , and the day fixed for her visit to the camp , the chances are that Maimie 's acquaintance with Ranald would have ended where it began , in which case both had been saved many bitter days . The sugar time is , in many ways , the best of all the year . It is the time of crisp mornings , when `` the crust bears , '' and the boys go crunching over all the fields and through the woods ; the time , too , of sunny noons and chilly nights . Winter is still near , but he has lost most of his grip , and all his terror . For the earth has heard the call of spring from afar , and knows that soon she will be seen , dancing her shy dances , in the sunny spaces of the leafless woods . Then , by and by , from all the open fields the snow is driven back into the fence corners , and lies there in soiled and sullen heaps .