Spring is here!
Sap is flowing (intermittently). We’ve tapped 270 trees this season. Just enough to get a few good batches. We decided to leave out quite a few trees this year.
If you take a walk in our forest you can see damage from Maple Borer attacks over the years and a high incidence of cankers. We believe giving our trees a break will give them a better chance to get through a tough summer drought (that are becoming more common with climate change), as well as other potential pests like the tent caterpillar that has been making it’s way across the Island and surrounding areas for the last couple of years.
Snow is still quite present. This year has been particularly challenging as you can see in the picture an excavation of our lines was necessary before getting going. Of course it’s not just getting the lines out of the snow, it’s cutting the branches and in some cases whole trees that fell down on them before the snow buried them.
We have boiled for a couple of days so far and our first batch is bottled and just awaiting labels. This first batch is a special one. We called it “Maple Love” because it really was a labour of love, but it’s also the batch we’ve bottled up for a Cousin’s wedding this summer! Exciting! Pictures of that to come when the labels are done.
Needless to say we are eagerly awaiting the snow melt (though not too quickly!) and the warmth of spring before the bugs make their appearance.
Also, there’s a couple of short videos posted on our Instagram account of the sap dripping and the boil on our flat pan. Check them out! More of those to come as the season carries on.
ENJOY!!
