boiling the sap

I tapped five sugar maple trees and collected about 35 gallons of sap. Then I retreated to my man cave behind the barn to boil it down. This year I added a hydrometer. The thicker the liquid the higher the hydrometer floats in the stainless steel tube. Notice the grass getting a spring green color. At times I had to set up wind breakers. After dark a rabbit hid about 15 feet away in the plowed ground and watched. For a fleeting moment nature and I enjoyed the magic.

and boil some more...

...late into the night, until the temp reaches 219, seven degrees above the boiling point of plain water. This year I added a candy thermometer to the sugaring operation which clips to the side of the vat and stays in. (pics by Joel)

then you boil

Sweet. I collect ten gallons (forty quarts) of sap and boil it down to one quart. Now I can sip coffee, read a magazine, manage the pre-boil pot on the electric heater, and enjoy the earliest daffodil tips emerging along with the sap.

the sap flows

The sap drips out of the hole into the old bucket while the township guys walk down the road patching cracks and holes in the macadam so nothing flows into them.

then you collect the sap

You tap a spout into the hole and collect the free sap. I'm tapping five sugar maples this year, one we planted 23 years ago and the others on a neighbor's property. At home I use the traditional covered bucket from the Miller family farm. But, much as I don't like the tons of plastic dumped daily on the world, for the others the bag is easier and cute in its way. Pic by Joel.

finished boiling

Last evening I finished boiling. I had three taps open, but the flow this year was nothing special. We got most of the sap from one. Anyway, sit on the chair, listen and hear the bubbling tree water. Smell the syrup beginning to form. A nice get-away behind the barn. The new burner, by the way, can pump out 30,000 btu per hour.

maple syrup breakfast

We had a maple syrup breakfast, enjoying the syrup from our own tree. Sarah and Ryan brought Brutus. Joel and Steph brought Simon. While we ate the two pouches guarded the door.

(Photo by Joel)