March is...

...Maple syrup time! This year we finally got around to tapping the maple trees in our yard. The sugaring season is short, damp and muddy, but these mature maples have just been begging to be tapped. Actually, I have to credit my friend Kristen for her work. First, she made spiles from the elderberry branches out back. Elderberry is an old timey material traditionally used for making the taps and fortunately we have lots of it in the yard. The process was a little fiddly: the branches are cut into 4 inch pieces, stripped of bark and then the soft pith center is hollowed out to make little wooden tubes. Next, holes were drilled into each tree and the tubes were gently pounded in. We have a rustic set up with old berry pails for collecting and tar paper "roofs" to keep out rain and debris. With nine taps going, so far we have collected about 20 gallons of sap. Now, just double that amount of sap, boil it down for a very long time and you get one gallon of syrup. Hmmm...this is going to be an interesting process. I'll keep you updated as we go about it.