EPISODE 265 MAPLE SYRUP TIME PART ONE: GETTING THE SAP…THE HALCYON DAYS
alan skeoch
Feb. 2021
Those soft winter days are nearly here. End of February, beginning of March. Maple Syrup making time
when those emblems of Canada, our thousands and thousands of sugar maple trees
are sniffing the air and sending a message to their root systems.
“NOTICE…Time for sugar to move up the tree trunk. Soon be needed
for life to begin again. Sleepy time is over.”
That is maple tree talk…the branches telling
the roots to start generating sap. The message is relayed via the thin communicating system
between the bark and the wood.
And I was determined to intervene…to ‘bleed’ off some of that life blood of some
of those maple trees.
SYSTEM…MAKING MAPLE SYRUP
“Marjorie, let’s see if we can make maple syrup. Something to do
in the gap between winter and spring…cheaper than skiing and
we’ll end up with s gallon or two of pancake syrup…our own hand
made maple syrup. Better than the store bought stuff maybe.”
“Where will you find enough trees? Not enough on our farm.”
“The Saunders farm runs right across to the Fourth Line where
they have about 20 acres of maples….I’ll ask Lorne if he is
willing to let us tap a few of his trees.”
Some farm laneways remain lined with mature maple trees for a good reason. Maple syrup
“You certainly have enough sap pails. How many
trees will you tap?”
“Maybe twenty or so. I have about 200
sap pails and lids. About the same amount of spiles…way
more than we can ever use in a lifetime.”
And so began a wonderful adventure. Making maple syrup. Earthy
March when the snow was beginning to melt on some days then
new snow falling on other days. What a grand time to be outdoors.
Week end work mostly but some weekdays as well which meant
I had to rush from teaching high school at Parkdale C.I. in the heart
of Toronto to my maple trees on Fourth Line of Erin Township, Wellington
County. On days when the sap would be running. Warm days…cool warm
days. I know it sounds like a contradiction.
I was not alone. Tara, our coonhound, Marjorie, the kids…Kevin and Andrew…
and sometimes Phil Sharp one of my fellow history teachers. So the truck
was loaded but still had room for the milk cans of maple sap. Milk cans?
Along with the sap pails, I had bought about 10 or 15 milk cans…big 10 or
15 gallon cans with pop up tops. These big cans were needed to haul
the sap from maple bush to the truck using a heavy sleight.
EQUIPMENT LIST
-20 SAP PAILS
-20 SAP PAIL LIDS
-1 HAND DRILL
-20 SPILES
-10 MILK CANS
-1 HEAVY DUTY SLEIGH
-1 LARGE SAP BOILING PAN WITH HIGH SIDES
-1 FINISHING TROUGH
-PILE OF CROWN SEALING BOTTLES WITH LIDS AND RINGS
-PILE OF WOOD FOR FIREPLACE
-SOME BOULDERS TO KEEP SAP PANS ABOVE FIRE PIT
-MAPLE SAP THERMOMETER…
-PILE OF FILTERS AND MILK CAN FILTERS
-GAS …ENOUGH TO DRIVE UP TO THE FARM
AND BACK TO THE CITY THREE TIMES A WEEK
(This venture was not cost effective…cost more than it was worth
was the conclusion of my critics)
The system worked well for three or four years and then
came to a abrupt end. So I will treat the story into two parts.
First were the halcyon days of sap collecting. Dream of those
days on March evenings…still do.
Lots of glass sealers around…some full of edible food…others full of bolts or porcelain insulators for hot wire fences.
“Dad, this is the way to tap a tree. Angle the drill up a few degrees so the sap can run down the spile into he pail.”
There is no joy quite like gathering maple sap in a snowbound forest.
“Alan, remember how we knew the maple sap collecting was over? When the forest floor was covered with wild garlic.
Easy to identify…smell, taste, look. Thousands of the spear like plants suddenly emerged in early spring. carpeted forest
floor in green.”
“I was reading that wild garlic is a fine medicinal herb…eases toothache, sore eyes, colds, coughs, …fends off warts, measles,
mumps and rheumatism.”
“If it’s that good why have we never seen anyone picking wild garlic?”
“look around …lots of people eat wild garlic. Recipes easy to find on the internet. The plant grows in deep forest in late
winter or early spring…when the wild garlic appears, I know the maple sap season is over. Easy to identify by its strong
garlic smell”
“AN easier way to tell the maple syrup season was over was when the flies appeared on the spiles or drowned in the sap.
Time to pack up.”
END PART ONE EPISODE 265
POST SCRIPT
WILD GENSENG ONCE GREW HERE
“ Marjorie, remember the Ginseng story? Deep in forests of maple, oak and other deciduous trees where the tree canopy was dense, Canadian ginseng once flourished Reputed to
be the best ginseng in the world. I have no idea why. The market in the 18th century was so good that the plant was wiped out. Years ago I did
a CBC radio story on that Ginseng and a listener near Simcoe phoned in with an offer to show me a few surviving wild ginseng plants
deep inside an ancient hardwood forest. He showed us the most unremarkable scrawny little plant that I would never be able to find
again. “
“lots of ginseng farms in Ontario today…easy to spot because he field are darkened with elevated panels…to simulate the
natural darkness of a maple forest. Korean Ginseng roots are not the same…“
“Back when we tapped those maple trees, We nosed around the forest but saw no ginseng…would not have known it if we did find it.”
“Why do people eat ginseng or drink ginseng tea?”
“I have no idea. The internet says to be careful with the plant.”
“Better to drink maple sap before the flies arrive….or slather maple syrup on pancakes or French toast.