The Real Deal

We'll be ready this weekend to start boiling our sap down to syrup.

While it's not a big operation, that's okay. 

For us, it's not about being a money making venture, 

but rather one more step towards self-sufficiency.

 Tonight, while the Artist, Callie and I were out for a walk, we noticed one of our neighbours 

working on his own syrup. The Artist, trekked into the woods and introduced himself.

Then he asked if his wife could take some photos. Because he's cool like that and I'm not.

 

  So Callie and I made our way through the mud, to see what was at the end of the lane.

This is what we arrived to.

 Meet Dan and his super-sized evaporator. 

I'm pretty sure, some guy doesn't appear out of the woods every day 

asking if his wife can take some photos, so as off guard as he must have been, 

he was a gracious host and shared lots of interesting information about the syrup process.

Dan's family has owned this land for multiple generations,  in fact remember that old atlas 

a few weeks back mapping our county? Well, according to it, Dan's family has 

worked the same land for over 150 years. 

 At one time, Dan's grandfather used to hang over 3000 buckets for sap collection. 

Today, Dan has up to 500 trees tapped, 350 by bucket, the rest using the new tube method.

 It takes 2 people, 2 hours to empty all 350 buckets. Imagine collecting 3000!

This year, Dan is expecting 80-100 gallons, which is used strictly for personal use, and as gifts for

friends and family. It's hard to believe that someone else out there is as addicted to maple syrup, if not more,

than the Artist, but by golly I think we've found one! 

He first started out with a wood fire and an iron pot, then soon enough had made his own evaporator. 

Last year he began using this beauty and for the record, making 80 - 100 gallons of your own syrup

is not a job for the faint of heart. After spending his day at work, he then fills his entire evening til midnight,

or (hopefully not) later, boiling down syrup.  And it's a process that keeps him on his toes. 

  If he's not tending the fire, 

 and it takes a lot of wood, to keep the temperature steady; 

then he's watching the sap to make sure it doesn't boil over. 

 

 Can I just say how glad I am that there won't be any more boiling over incidents 

this year in the kitchen at the old farmhouse? Very glad. To keep the foam under control,

a few drops of milk are added to the syrup mixture and faster than you can say Mississippi, 

the foam recedes but only for a few minutes.

 We asked how long the season usually lasts and when he would stop collecting sap. 

I've heard once the maples bud, it's time to pull the spigot out but I like Dan's tried and true method better.

According to his Grandfather, once the ice on the pond has melted or you hear the peepers, then it's

time to call it quits for another year. Of course, once the sap is no longer clear but has a yellowish tinge,

you just won't get a nice tasting syrup. 

 As the season progresses, the syrup will become darker but if you have a warm day like we

had here today, the syrup will also react to the higher temperatures and darken. Today was a

little too warm, the trees really do their best work when the temperatures aren't too high.

So there you have it, a real sugar bush operation. And while I've been exclaiming profoundly around 

here lately, how ready I am for spring, I'm hoping the ice on the pond doesn't leave too quickly. 

 Maybe it can hang around for another few weeks. 

All in the name of some maple goodness. 

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I'm linking up with Verde Farm for Farm Friend Friday!

~Put the real stuff on your pancakes!~