MAPLE SYRUP SUNDAY

Today is Maine Maple Syrup Sunday. It is a day when the public can visit "sugar houses" walk around and see the buckets on the trees, watch a boiling demonstration, sample the syrup, and purchase items made with maple syrup. Some of the items include traditional pancakes with syrup, syrup on ice cream, soft serve maple ice cream, maple cotton candy, maple cookies, maple donuts, maple cream candy, maple sugar candy and maple baked beans. All are delicious!

We are fortunate that down the road a piece is Parson's Dairy Farm. The Parson's milk fifty dairy cows, have a pair of steers, horse, pony, goat, chickens, rooster and a "sugar house".

The ideal conditions for the sap to run are warm sunny days and cool nights. The sap usually runs for approximately one month beginning in early March. Pictured above is a collection container, a plastic barrel with tubing connected allowing the sap to directly run in.My preference for collection is the old fashioned way. A metal tap in the tree, lid, and hanging metal bucket. I love the simplicity it represents.

This collection barrel is being pulled by a vehicle called a bombardier. It takes the collected sap right to the sugar house and is poured directly into the evaporator. As you may notice" mud season" has struck and it is always a good idea to wear mud boots when visiting a sugar house!

The Parson's sugar house is tucked behind the family farm in a wooded clearing. Sap season is a great time to catch up with neighbors and friends!

There is nothing like the fragrance of maple syrup in the air, it smells heavenly! The steam is rising, the evaporator is doing it's job.

This evaporator is a wood fired oven with a complex maze of flues for the syrup to run through. The oven reaches an ideal temperature of 219 degrees. The liquid is filtered and then bottled into glass, tin or plastic containers.Hi ladies, good of you to pop out and say hello!If you are fortunate to have a sugar house in your town or one close by, stop in for a visit. Buying local products is great for you and the producer. Buy local it's a good thing. Till next time!