The Sweetest Time of Year

Spring in Maine has (kind of) arrived, and with it comes sap time! We decided to try tapping the maple trees on the property this year, seeing as it had been done successfully before and the supplies were on hand. We did stop and buy a few used buckets with covers at a nearby maple farm, scrubbed them out, and we were ready to start the process. We drilled a small hole in the selected tree about four feet off the ground, pounded the tap into the tree, hung the bucket from the tap and slid the cover on.Viola! The tree was tapped. Almost immediately, in some cases, sap began flowing out of the hole.Shane had a great time, doing most of the drilling and tapping, while I stood back with Nora in the ergo, trying to keep snow out of my boots. (Hey, it's deep in some places!)Barkley, ever the protective dog, kept a watchful eye on us as we traveled from tree to tree, occasionally disappearing to track a suspicious scent. It's hazardous out here, you know.We finished up and headed back to the house. After working so hard, Nora was positively exhausted. Being nine months is hard work, don't you think?Of course, it will take more work to make this sugar-water sap into syrup, but don't worry, we'll chronicle the progress for you. For now, though, I'm happy to relax and listen to the slow drip of the maple tree.Have a delightful week, everyone!