{"id":23629,"date":"2023-03-20T11:19:06","date_gmt":"2023-03-20T15:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=23629"},"modified":"2023-03-20T11:26:34","modified_gmt":"2023-03-20T15:26:34","slug":"episode-782-maple-syrup-time-looks-like-mid-winter-but-andrew-is-there-with-drill-spyle-and-pail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=23629","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 782 MAPLE SYRUP TIME … “LOOKS LIKE MID WINTER BUT ANDREW IS THERE WITH DRILL, SPYLE AND PAIL”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE 782      MAPLE SYRUP TIME  … “LOOKS LIKE MID WINTER BUT ANDREW IS THERE WITH DRILL, SPYLE AND PAIL”<\/div>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
March 19, 2023<\/div>\n

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TIME WARP:  MARCH 19, 1975<\/div>\n

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\u201cMarjorie the sap is running.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cToo cold for sap, Alan\u2026.and we are in a snowstorm\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201dSap is running up the maples\u2026feel it in my blood\u2026time to tap the trees.\u201d<\/div>\n
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And so, in 1975, we packed the truck with styles, sap buckets, drill and headed for the<\/div>\n
Saunders maple bush on the fourth line.  Spent a happy day drilling trees with a slight incline<\/div>\n
so the \u2018lifeblood of the forest\u2019 could be harvested   The kids, Kevin and Andrew, joined Marjorie<\/div>\n
and me and Tara, our coonhound, in what turned out to be a delightful adventure.  So what if<\/div>\n
the sap pails were old and lead soldered!  We were unaware of lead poisoning.  So what if a<\/div>\n
deadbeat with a 22 rifle was getting ready to shoot holes in the pails \u201cJust watch that lifeblood of<\/div>\n
the forest “drain to the ground,  We got enough to make a gallon or two of syrup.  It wasn\u2019t so much<\/div>\n
as the joy of syrup making anyway.  We were out and about and ready for spring.  So what if the land was cold and<\/div>\n
snow covered.   The change of seasons was on its way  Wild garlic was poking its head through<\/div>\n
the snow.<\/div>\n

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That was half a century ago.<\/div>\n

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DATELINE:  MARCH 19, 2023<\/div>\n

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Today was reminiscent of that time.  As we headed up the Fifth line in a light snowstorm under<\/div>\n
dark clouds we were suddenly startled by a blob of bright orange on the road ahead.  <\/div>\n

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\u201cAndy is out tapping the maple trees today.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cUsing your old kit?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope, he is using aluminum pails\u2026no lead poisoning\u2026but everything else he found<\/div>\n
in the barn.  Waiting half a century for him to come. \u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cDoes he need the tractor?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, it is more than half a century old as well as most of the sap kit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou planted the seed in his brain, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNotice he only puts one pail per tree\u2026just takes a little of the lifeblood of<\/div>\n
the forest\u2026like the Red Cross does with our blood.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cI wonder if the assassin with the 22 rifle is still around here\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat idiot was on the fourth line.  The fifth line is more civilized.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot in the deep forest\u2026neighbours can watch.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe guy with the gun was likely 14 years old\u2026kids do<\/div>\n
stupid things.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust like you did.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAs God is my witness I did not know a BB gun could put a hole<\/div>\n
in the back window of Angus McEchern\u2019s pickup truck.  That was]<\/div>\n
a long time ago when I was 14.\u201d:<\/div>\n
\u201dA day just like this day.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSpring was in the air back then just as it is today.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cAlan you must like that term.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat term?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLifeblood of the forest.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSuitable metaphor.”<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou want to know what makes me feel good about the tree tapping today?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe did it\u2026we put the idea in Andrew\u2019s brain on those days so long ago.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd there he is wading through snowdrifts with drill and spyle and pail.\u201d<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe maple trees are waking up today?<\/div>\n
\u201cEveryone else is fast asleep.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo everyone.  Te Saunders cattle herd is busy eating what <\/div>\n
remains of the corn field.<\/div>\n
\u201cAlong with about 100 Canada Geese also gorging on dropped corn kernels.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t this where we startled a couple of wild turkeys last week?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSame place\u2026the land is alive.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe are not alone.”<\/div>\n

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\u201cDid you see the ancient steam tractor on the Fourth Line.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat belonged to Sherwood Hume\u2026I think Gladys and the boys<\/div>\n
hauled it out there.  Sort of a gravestone for Sherwood\u2026he loved<\/div>\n
the machines of the past.”<\/div>\n

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\u201cLook over there, Marjorie, that barn has turned green\u2026it is alive<\/div>\n
and getting ready for spring\u2026get he idea?”<\/div>\n

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\u201cTime to get home.”<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy?”<\/div>\n
\u201cTime to get the pancakes ready.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSlobber on the maple syrup.:<\/div>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you mean the \u201clifeblood of the forest\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDid you invent the term?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLike to think so but there is nothing new under the sun\u201d<\/div>\n

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alan<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat are those carrot tops doing in the shopping bag?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cFor the wild bunny living in the shed.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSome people would think of shooting the little fellow.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot us.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cEven Woody likes that rabbit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cStrange dog.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWoody smells \u2026he knows that Spring is in the air<\/div>\n
and in the ground\u2026and under the snow and ice in the SWAMP.<\/div>\n

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SWAMP<\/b>
A swamp, a fen, a marsh, a bog;
they’re all the same.
You trudge, you slog.
The ground is soft and wet and spongy.
Stay a while and you’ll feel grungy.
Walk a little further yet.
Your feet sink in;
your legs are wet.
Stay long enough,
you very might
be getting a mosquito bite.
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There’s dogfish, cattails,
frogs and otters,
some turtles, beavers, in the water,
hawks and ducks and northern pike,
bald eagles, black birds — 
much to like.
So grab your boots and come on in.
It’s better if you do not swim,
but save the wetlands
marsh and bogs
for all the turtles
ducks and frogs.<\/p>\n

By Denise Rodgers<\/p>\n

Copyright\u00a9 Denise Rodgers
Great Lakes Rhythm & Rhyme<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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EPISODE 782      MAPLE SYRUP TIME  … “LOOKS LIKE MID WINTER BUT ANDREW IS THERE WITH DRILL, SPYLE AND PAIL” alan skeoch March 19, 2023 TIME WARP:  MARCH 19, 1975 \u201cMarjorie the sap is running.\u201d \u201cToo cold for sap, Alan\u2026.and we are in a snowstorm\u201d \u201dSap is running up the maples\u2026feel it in my blood\u2026time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}