Maple Syrup Seaon Begiins

This spring Ken plans to make maple syrup. Each season is different and some seasons are better than others.  The first step is to drill a small hole in the maple tree.

The next step is to tap in a spile to direct the flow of sap into a bucket.

Then Ken has to check and empty buckets of sap.  When he has enough to boil down to syrup, he pours the sap through a filter and into the evaporator.  Then he will keep a fire under the evaporator to boil the sap to syrup. The sap's sugar concentration varies, but usually it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.  For one quart of syrup it takes about two full five gallon buckets.

Optimum weather for maple sap to flow is a combination of daytime temperatures in the 40's with sun and no wind and night time temperatures in the 20's.  

We shall see what the weather brings.  More photos to follow!