At the last moment, the word was out that Byron had left town because he had to go goose hunting in North Dakota and was not able to bring in the the late season run. In a fit of need, I ascended on his sugar bush of some 80 trees and with the help of his dandy new tractor secured a bounty of another 25 gallons of pure, pristine sap---a few bugs floating yes, but small feathery ones.
What followed is what I suspect is all light-hearted sap gatherers most favorite activity and that is the rolling boil. This event is usually accompanied by a roaring wood fire under a big pan finding the sap harvesters sitting comfortably in front drawing on a pleasant Wisconsin beer. The wood is fed in casually, but constantly. As the liquid steams off the batch, it becomes more concentrate and with that, the wafting smell of maple syrup drifts through the air. It is the smell that brings us all back. It is the smell of spring, of March. Coupled with the ever present odor of burning pine and poplar there is no greater welcome of the season. With the sound of the Cardinals ever decending calls of love and the distant songs of Sandhills the wealth of the land presents itself to all senses.
The grand touch in the finishing boil that takes place in the kitchen. The final reduction of water is carefully carried out with more control for to over render is a mess that can not be described and will leave ones marriage well marred. Dangerous as it may be, this final act is my favorite, for once the boil is going, the air of the kitchen is filled with the intensity of maple flavor. What a treat to walk into the warm kitchen and be blasted by that smell of spring's bounty.
The first batch turned out dark and of poor taste but the workings of the Sugar Maples from Byron proved true and if I might say robust---a spring worth having.
OK Dave, what happened here? I found this quote from your March 7th blog. "I decided that this year, as a way of being sustainable, I would only tap trees I could walk to." So when push comes to shove, you cave on your principles? Just had to get a jab in. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe syrup season here in NNY is over and has been very unusual. Folks who tapped early, like late February, did alright. We made over half of our syrup in the first ten days of March. Many producers were caught short because they missed those early productive runs.
All this just goes to show that Mother Nature really is the boss!!
Ya, I lost my sustainability label but lord knows I could have driven my bike but it would not have been pretty. Mother nature can be a bitch but mother nature always bats last. I'm just a player, maybe not a contender, but a player and loving every bit of it.
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