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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Sap is Flowing!
I can't believe that the maple sap is flowing already after our warm 3 or 4 days. I'm sure this is the earliest ever; the Maple Syrup Tour we usually go on isn't held until mid-April! But syrup season does come and go with the weather, cold nights and warm sunny days are best, which is what we're having right now.
I actually ran into the farmer and his grandson when they were out tapping some trees down the road and we chatted for awhile. This is just a fun family project for them, not by any means a commercial operation - perhaps an activity to share with their grandchildren. They were only tapping about half a dozen of the big roadside Sugar Maples.
But those old roadside maples with a big crown do generate a lot of sap compared to maples in a woodlot. I know because we've tapped trees ourselves in some past lives. The taste of the syrup is what makes it fun!
These big old trees are plenty large enough to carry three taps, maybe even four. So with 2-3 buckets per tree on 6 trees they should make their family supply for the year easily.
These are the traditional older style metal buckets and spiles. Most people use blue plastic buckets with lids now, and plastic spiles. Many commercial operations use plastic tubing.
I tried my best to get a picture of a drop of sap falling, but failed. You can see the drop about to fall here though. So the sap was actually running!
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Incredible that the sap is running so early. Love the photo of the tree against the blue sky.
ReplyDeleteYum! Let's make pancakes!
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to hear this on the news earlier today to that the sap farmers are already tapping in . Lovely photos . Thanks for sharing . Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun family activity! No experience with this out here in California, but I love maple syrup!!
ReplyDeleteHi Furry!
ReplyDeleteThis is unbelievable...the world is crazy!
Enjoy your evening...
Cheers!
Linda :o)
Interesting...that is one thing I have no experience with. Well, one of many things I have no experience with.
ReplyDeleteIt is a sweet time of year.
ReplyDeleteIt is spring here too this week. Birds singing like crazy and the tree in my back garden about to blossom. Who knows what next week will bring though?
ReplyDeleteWow that is very early for the sap, love good maple syrup.
ReplyDeleteI like the old style buckets...good to see families working together to collect the sap:)
ReplyDeleteI am surprised at how early the sap may flow depending upon weather patterns. Here in south Florida we have sapsuckers all winter, but they select some trees, notably the West Indies Mahogany, which put out fruit while they are here. Their sap flows best when the fruit is forming, and this coincides with the winter months.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago I visited Vermont when the sap was running, and got to watch a farmer harvest the sap and make syrup. It was the best maple syrup I've ever tasted!
ReplyDeletevery cool and fun find - i always favor the old fashioned way!! it must run slow...very slow but anything good is worth waiting for!!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem very early. Nice to see the old type buckets. Seems like a fun family project.
ReplyDeleteWow! That IS early! My parents tapped our trees for about 35 years and it's a great family event to spend your days in the spring time woods collecting sap and sitting around the fire watching sap boil.
ReplyDeleteI do love the taste of the stuff!
ReplyDeleteBoy that is interesting. Don't see that at all out this way. Good post
ReplyDeleteMB
PS: I scrolled through the posts I missed and I have got to say that no matter how beautiful the snow and ice look in your wonderful images I think I am glad we get a day or two of snow and then it is gone. I don't know if I could tolerate it for months.
MB
This seems incredibly early to me. But maybe I'm wrong, since that is definitely a drop of sap coming down! :-)
ReplyDeleteAmazing! Obviously not something we see over here; I had no idea it was done like that.
ReplyDeleteIt's really pleasant to see the old ways. I know of one commercial operation with 60,000 taps, and that's certainly not the largest. The plastic tubing makes it hard to get around in the woods -- surely doesn't do much to improve the cross-country skiing, but at $50 a gallon at retail for maple syrup it's understandable why the do it.
ReplyDelete