It all begins in early spring when the days become warmer and the nighttime temperatures still dip below freezing. There is a sense of change in the air. Icicles form from rooftops, ice begins to pull away from the lakeshores, and the chickadees sing their springtime song. In mid-February, we begin tapping the 12,000 taps that, in roughly four weeks, will bring the sap flowing down from the hills.

Every year a new tap hole must be drilled. At least 6” to 12” away from the previous year’s tap hole, a small hole is drilled no more than 2” into the tree and a spigot is inserted into the hole. Through this hole the sap flows from the tree through a tubing system down to our sugarhouse. A good portion of our work is done on snowshoes as we are working in thigh-deep snow at this time of year. There are about 100 trees along our driveway that are maintained with buckets. These allow us to monitor the sap flow at various strategic points.

The sap flows best if there are freezing nights followed by warm days. Some of our best sap days have been when storm fronts are moving through. Sleeting snow and rain are the best, because it also helps thaw the ground around the trees. When the barometric pressure starts changing, it can often trigger a sap flow. On a good day here in the North Woods, we can collect 10,000-13,000 gallons of sap in a 24-hour period of time.

Immediately upon arriving at the sugar house the sap is boiled down into maple syrup. As the sap comes in, it is collected in large stainless steel tanks and is gravity fed into the back of our 6’ x 16’ evaporator. To produce one gallon of maple syrup it requires between 30 and 40 gallons of sap. The evaporator cooks and evaporates the water off the sap, leaving behind the pure maple syrup.

To keep up with the daily sap flow, we often cook down the sap around the clock. It is important to cook the sap as soon as possible as it ensures the best quality. As we draw off maple syrup from the evaporator, we put it in drums and smaller five-gallon containers. Each container is labeled with the date and color grade, and then put in storage. Throughout the year we “bottle” our syrup in a variety of containers for our customers. We take syrup from different color grades and dates and blend them in our special commercial kitchen. Each batch is thoroughly heated and filtered before going into the bottles.

During the sap flowing days we not only collect the sap, but we also check the tubing to make sure everything is intact. Occasionally, the tubing will pull apart due to freezing and thawing or a fallen tree limb. Sometimes a moose will walk through and create havoc. Luckily, the tubing is connected by special fittings that pull apart easily and are easy to repair. The hard part is going through the snow to get to the break!

Sugaring season usually lasts about four weeks. At the end of the season, all the taps are pulled from the trees and everything, including all the tubing, is washed with water.  Since we are certified organic, no chemicals are use in our cleaning processes. The evaporator pans are scrubbed, and everything that was used is cleaned and put away until next Spring.

All year long we are busy bottling and selling the syrup. Our summer months are especially busy with customers here at the sugarhouse and with building projects. In late October, after most of the leaves have fallen, we begin all the work in the woods. We repair damaged lines, saw up fallen trees, and scout out new areas for tapping. Everything needs to be done in preparation for tapping next spring. There is never a dull moment when there are 320 acres of maple trees to take care of!