It’s March… and around here that means it is SUGARING TIME!!! We are in the middle of perfect sugaring weather… freezing at night but a beautiful 45 or so during the day. We took our first trip to the Sugar Bush on Sunday and then we came home (actually went to Gammy’s) and made our own Maple Sugar Candy (click here to check out this yummy treat).
Mmmm… there is nothing quite like the smell of a sugar shack. Sweet sap boiling, firewood smoldering, fresh earth exposed (ie lovely March mud). Bug would spend all day peering into the sap pans if he could.
Did you know that it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup? You can collect 6-10 gallons of sap per Sugar Maple tree during sugaring season. To learn more about sugaring check out these great books Grandpa’s Sugar Bush and Sugaring Time. Grandpa’s Sugar Bush is a lovely introduction for the younger crowd and reading Sugaring Time is the next best thing to being able to help out at a Sugar Shack.
The Farm we visit sets up a Native American Sugaring Camp display for the kids… the kids favorite part… squishing through the six inch deep mud. 😉
I swear I was born in the wrong part of the country. As a sourthern Mississippi gal I have always lusted after the north. I love the looks of your beautiful falls and apple orchards. Then your white Christmases that look like the North Pole. And this. I can’t even imagine the thrill of taking the babes to a sugar shack. It sounds like such fun. I’m thinking I have to work on the hubby and try to get him to consider a transfer north!
Sounds like fun.
We have an area by us that does the same thing and we go see the sugar maples being tapped every year. We have the book Grandpa’s Sugar Bush and the children love it. I’ve never seen Sugaring Time but it sounds interesting and I am going to order it. We plan to try making the the maple candy. We love maple syrup so this sounds yummy.
Thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind comment. I have never seen how you get the sap from the maple trees so, really enjoyed your last blog post. We don’t have anything like that in England. I am a big fan of pancakes and maple syrup but, next time we’re in America I will definitely be looking for some maple sugar candy – ooh my mouth is watering!