Maple Syrup - a group effort

Steam rolling off the evaporation pan.

Dale testing the syrup density using the hydrometer.

Syrup in the finishing pan. Almost there.

Finished syrup coming out of the felt filter.

by Andy

Today we finished our third batch of syrup of the season. It was a group effort.

First we must mention the students of Lake Country School and Great River School, who put out the taps and got things ready to collect the sap.

Then we had three families who came out on Friday and helped collect sap and tap a few more trees. Thanks to Ravi and Sofia and their family and friends and to Christine and her family and friends. The highpoint on Friday was getting everybody fitted with snowshoes and then tromping around on top of the snow pack as we collected and tapped. The sap was frozen, but we collected the ice anyway, because there wasn't much and we wanted to have every last drop. This made collection more time consuming, so having all the helpers was a boon.

The next contributor to be mentioned is the weather. The last three days have been absolutely beautiful. Although it has been cold, the sun has been bright and the sky has been blue. The warmth from the late March sun makes a real difference. I have been walking around without my winter coat and despite the temperature, it just feels warm. It is delightful to be outside on days like these. Does your blood become "thinner" or something after a long winter to help it not seem so cold? I do know the sun is actually brighter. A friend who installed his solar panel last fall has been having record days the last couple days. It has been nice weather to be outside boiling sap, but really this past week was generally too cold to cause much sap to run.

We must also mention our maple syrup making partners, Dale and Corinne. We share the jobs of tapping, collecting sap, collecting wood, and boiling with Dale and Corinne. It is fun to have somebody to collaborate with because so much of the work is time-consuming and it is enjoyable to converse while we work. It makes it seem not so much like work and more like this cool thing that we get to do with friends - which it really is. This weekend Dale and Corinne had visitors, Tim and Linda, who helped collect sap and haul wood.   

Today we didn't have much sap, but we had a good boil and ended up making a total of 9 pints. This coming week the forecast is predicting perfect weather for an epic sap run. We will be boiling next weekend for sure, and maybe mid-week. Call or email to arrange to come out and help!