"...we forget that we are a part of nature. In this world of nature we can live only by killing: this is a law that is none of our making. The noble maple is chopped down for firewood- who knows but that it too loves to live, and feels a thrill of joy when it's sweet sap surges upward in the spring. Our boots are made from the hides of cattle, our clothing from the woool of sheep, and we batten on their flesh. Whose ear is attuned fine enough to hear the plaintive sigh of the reluctant beet or carrot torn from the garden mould? Death comes apace to all living things, for no matter how we avoid killing,
'all men kill the thing they love." Death, the end of everthing we understand, is, after all, one of the minor incidents of life."- Frank Parker Day, The Autobiography of a Fisherman
The sap of those noble maples will be flowing again soon. It is good to know some things haven't changed since 1927 when Day wrote those lines. The sentiment of the lines is also relevant today, where our disengagement from nature is manifesting into noticable negative consequences.
At least to those paying attention to consequences.
I wont be chopping down any maples for firewood, just coaxing a little of that sap into my boiling pot. No killing required! However, I am cutting down a lot of standing dead softwood. Not as many btus as hardwood, but it is dry and burns good enough for me. The sap is a little slow to get going so far. There was a decent sap flow event during the warm weekend in late february, but it has been a cold start to March.This weekend promises a few consecutive days of positive temperatures, which should get the sap flowing again.
Lots of preparation to do before boiling begins: more trees need to be tapped, more cans cleaned out, more wood cut, more, more, more. Then the season will be in full swing and there will be a need for more wood, more bottles, more containers, more wood, more time. That is part of what appeals to me about this syrup making business, the constant demand to keep up with the sap flow and to keep burning and boiling.
There is a rhythm to the work. Get wood, collect sap, boil sap, get wood, bottle syrup, eat pancakes, repeat...
This year I have expanded the operation in a few ways. There is going to be about twice as many trees tapped and hopefully twice as much sap, if not more, as the trees were tapped in a staggered fashion last year and I am setting all of them early this year. The wood collecting is slightly easier this year, as I have my Stilh MS361 chainsaw back from BC. The old homelite saw did its duty last season, but I don't miss the old brute too much.
Keeping up with all this potential sap got me thinking I had to improve on my boiling efficiency too. The old stove was retired and a new location has been made for a new and improved model stove and pot. There are some pictures here of the contraption. Basically a giant 67 litre aluminum pot and an old hot water tank stove with a hole cut in it for the pot to rest in. Lots of surface area and more direct contact with the fire than the old 'system'.
If Mother Nature cooperates and we get some warm weather, but not too warm, then it will be an exciting and productive season in the sugar bush.
Looking forward to it!
