Spring is in the air today and with the fine weather this week we were able to finish tapping. The sap is running a bit but not enough to collect and make syrup. The next step is to turn on the vacuum pumps, check for and  repair any leaks in the pipeline system and test the sap transfer pumps.There is still lots of work to do before that taste of fresh made maple syrup. Snow and cold weather are in the forecast for later this week so it will be March before we make our first syrup.

Everyone asks if it will be a good season. That’s a very difficult question. What happens is almost fully dependent on favourable weather. So we would be guessing if we predicted the season. By April 15 we will have a definitive answer. It helps if everyone thinks positively so we are counting on you to do your part.

In my last blog I mentioned that we will be tapping our maple plantation for the first time. This is a picture of the plantation as it looks today.The trees are evenly spaced in straight lines which makes it convenient for tapping but not quite as picturesque as a naturally grown sugar bush. With the large crowns on these trees we expect the sap may have more sugar content than trees in our main sugar bush.