Tapping our Maple Trees ~ A Team Effort

Might be some snow today, and the sap is running!


This week we have been tapping trees in earnest.  Our goal is about 400 taps, and we don't want to miss a run, so we are starting earlier than usual.  For sap to run it must be below freezing at night and in the high 30's or 40's during the day.

We have WWOOF World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farm participants here. Two young women who are here for a few weeks to help with whatever needs to be done.  They have been eager to learn about producing maple syrup.

We first tapped trees with good sun exposure, which are likely to run the most.  This was trees along both sides of the road.  On the road we used the 2 wheel cart to haul tools and buckets. Christine, one of the participants at our Yarn and Yoga event, and Lee Ann, our regular helper both came to help for the day on Wednesday.  They both agred  it was loads of fun being outside on a beautiful sunny day treking through the snow to the maple trees.

We actually had two teams of 3 the first day.  One to drill the hole and insert the tap, another to hammer it snugly into place, and a third to put on the bucket and the lid.

Next we tapped the cow lane trees and the mid wall, along the edge of the fields. For this we used the sleds to carry what we needed.  Some of these trees are in clusters so we use tubing so that several trees drain into a single 5 gallon bucket.

And today it is snowing. This is a good thing as Bubba will be pulling the pung with the sap tank.  The pung is an antique rig with 2 sets of runners and a box and shaves. The box is big enough for 2 seats, but we take one of them off to make room for the tank.

The next day we did trees more into the woods and along stone walls.  To date we have put in over 300 taps.


Soon we will fire up our wood fired evaporator.  Here is a picture of Mary Ann last year showing a youngster how she keeps the fire fed. 








Maine Maple Sunday will be here before long....it is the 4th Sunday in March each year, so for 2013 it will be March 24.  We will be open at 8am for a pancake breakfast featuring fresh maple syrup and our own maple lamb sausage.  We expect another great team of helpers in the kitchen, lambs in the barn, and helpers to collect sap.

 This is a picture of the Maple Breakfast from 2012.  Good turnout indeed!