“Smell the mud, grab the taps, quick it’s coming, lets go collect the sap!”
Hooray, it’s here. It’s sugaring season in the northeast, time to harvest from the trees. It’s been a long, cold winter, and we are ready to get out!
The season officially arrived this week, with a spike in temps of 60 degrees the trees decided to open the flood gates and let loose, all their sweet sugar water.
Growing up in NH, old sugar houses were a natural part of the landscape. Steam billowing from the smokestacks indicated that spring was close on winter’s heels.
So many fond memories of sugaring..
Plink, plunk, plink…sap is running, music to my little ears.
Riding in the back of the pick-up truck, jumping out and running to see if I could find the fullest bucket.
Happy children laughing, yelling, echos from the sugarbush.
Hauling large 5 gallon pails with my young little arms. Sap sloshing and spilling all the way back to the truck. Handing it off to “W” to empty into the collection tank, barely able to wait to get the empty bucket back into my hands. Off I go on another scavenge for a full sap bucket.
Red cheeks, muddy boots, happy, twinkling eyes. So thrilled to be running through the woods after a long winter. Dodging mud holes, leaping over melting snow banks, warm, early spring sun shining down on my back.
Sugar house steam greets my face. Stack the wood, fill the firebox; quick shut the door, don’t let the fire burn low.
Rolling boil, look for foam, monitor the temperature.
And I watch, and I wait..
Is it ready? Can I taste?
Draw off time is here. Diving in, I take my finger and dip it into the thickening, golden amber syrup…so sweet, so sticky, so yummy.
Nothing better….
Happy Sugaring season!
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