Most of the trees in this bush are maple trees. That is one of the reasons the colours are so beautiful. The specific type of maple is called a sugar maple. These maple trees are the best for providing a sweet sap that can be concentrated into a maple syrup of maple sugar candy. This part of the Sheppard property would be known as a “sugar bush”.
Production of maple sugar takes place in the spring. That is when the sap in the trees moves from the roots, where it has spent the winter, up to the branches to nourish the new growth of leaves and branches. Some of that sap is “tapped off” and collected in buckets that are attached to the side of the tree. Not all trees are tapped and the same trees are not tapped every year.
This particular lot is not used for commercial production for the grocery stores, but in the season this becomes a popular place for a “Maple Syrup Festival”. People come to see the process, taste some samples, and buy some products to take home. This is a great time to eat pancakes and real fresh maple syrup. In the spring it can be quite cool, just above freezing, so hot chocolate, hot apple cider, or hot coffee are just the thing to drink with the pancakes.
This all requires some permanent buildings. Some of them have been here for a long time, others are a recent addition.
It is a lot of work to walk through the deep snow to collect the pails of sap. The sap runs best when the days are above freezing and the nights are below freezing. Modern methods use plastic tubing to bring the sap to the sugar shack.
In the sugar shack, the water in the sap is evaporated to concentrate the sweetness and create a syrup. Originally the heat was produced by the wood that was all around them. A fire built under a large evaporating pan releases steam and water vapour from the sap. Now natural gas is used in the interest of efficiency and environmental concerns. Some wood is still used to create the nostalgia of the sights, sounds and smells.
The spring season is short and the fall season is short too. Most of these pictures were taken in the middle of October. The picture at the top of this post was taken ten days later. Notice how many leaves are now on the ground rather than on the branches.
Ah memories from when we lived in upstate NY and tapped our Sugar Maple trees! Awesome photos as usual.
this is such a beautiful place Doug!! I know I would love to walk here, but until then, will enjoy them through your posts and pics
Doug, thank you both for the totally gorgeous, evocative images, and for explaining the maple sugar tapping process. Wonder/full!