Making syrup is one of the things I miss most about my beloved Pennsylvania.  I’m glad you didn’t miss this wonderful event!

foraging

April 5th | Life is sweet…

and year after year it gets a little sweeter. 

I had long accepted I’d be missing the sap run this year after being out of the northland for the entire month of March, swapping our beloved Maple trees for Long-leaf Pine and Palms down in Florida. I was overjoyed when I learned that it would be a late run and I’d be home in time to sit around the sap stove with family and friends. 

This has easily become my favorite time of year. 
What’s not to love? The season is changing: the sun feels a little stronger, the air smells a little sweeter, snow begins to melt around the pasture, and sap begins to drip from the branches above. On a cloudy day one might mistake them as rain drops but when the sun is shining there’s no question it’s time to tap the trees. 

Firing up the sap stove early in the morning, the sound of the roaring fire combines with the bugling echos of Sandhill Cranes. After a few hours, and after losing count of the number of buckets you’ve been dumping in…the smell of the steam begins to sweeten and the liquid transitions to a deep amber. Kids (and grandpas) enjoy scooping the gritty foam off the sweetening liquid and giving it a taste before SPLATING it on the gravel next to the stove.

There is no denying, life is sweet.

Life is Sweet: April 5th

Hayley L

Are you sure?

Gobbler Knob L

Joshua L