Maple Sugar Lane

Hi there,

Yesterday, it was off to the sugar camp only to find out that it's closed on Mondays.  Undaunted and since it was okay with the friendly owner, we set off for a walk down sugar lane.

Sadly the restaurant was closed too. We strolled by, while vision of a breakfast of pancakes flooded with maple syrup danced through our heads.

The gift shop also closed and filled to the rafters, no doubt, with tasty maple syrup and other sweet treats.

I was looking for taps (sprouts) and sap buckets, and was disappointed not to see any of the old- fashioned gear.  But less labour intensive high tech extraction methods have hit the sugar camp. The lines run from tree to tree and then on to holding tanks. Later, the syrup is pumped to the sugar shack where it boiled down to pure maple syrup. Since there's a lot of water in the sap, the general ratio is 40 to 1~ 40 liters of sap are boiled down to produce 1 liter of maple syrup.

It takes cold nights and above zero day time temperatures for the sap to run. We had unusually warm weather in February, so they tapped on the 19th. But March was cold and I am sure the sap wasn't running for two weeks or more.

Other than sugar maples, they can also tap red and black maples.

Other trails. Guess who took this trail?
Traffic signs? When the sugar camp is open, they have wagon rides, and, who knows, maybe four wheeled vehicles zoom by sometimes too.

A hunters' blind? I prefer to think it's a camera blind covered with oak leaves.  If you stayed up there awhile, I bet you would see deer and other animals walk by.

A high tech tap and an unusual white fungus.

Back at the sugar shack. The stove with the holding tanks above and to the right.

A wood burner. They boil down the sap twice a day. Having a inquiring mind, I wanted to ask more questions, but since they were not officially open and the owner had cleaned everything and was getting ready for another go, I thought I'd better bow out gracefully while thanking him for his hospitality.

Across the road. A quiet place to sit and think. And look no snow on that sunny hillside! For a hemmed-in snow bound person, that patch of open ground made me take a deep breath and filled me with a sense of freedom. . . . definitely a sight for sore eyes.

Maple trees and the bounty they provide make up a huge part of the Canadian identity.  So it's fitting that our flag sports a sugar maple leaf.

 I was hoping to buy some maple treats and a bottle of syrup, but since they weren't open that was impossible, but, luckily, I still have a stash in the cupboard from Quebec.

"Shoot for the moon and if you miss you'll still be among the stars." 

Les Brown 

Enjoy the week...