Maple sap season is over and I'm sad...

Maple Sap Spile

The winter in Michigan was a very mild one this year. Really, we only had a couple decent snowfalls and not very much bitter cold weather, especially compared to the last few years. I only had to get the snowblower out once, which is unheard of. Usually, I go through 3-4 gallons of gas using it each winter. While the mild winter has meant we used less natural gas to heat the house, and were able to be outside in lighter jackets more often, it has also had some drawbacks as well.

The biggest drawback for me was the very early start to the maple sap run. The trees started running in our area in the middle of February and were really going strong by the end of the month. The last two years, the run hasn't started until at least the beginning of March and didn't get going until near the end of the month. I was not convinced it was really starting that early so I held off. I thought for sure, we would get a cold front that would shut the trees off and the normal season would still happen. Boy was I wrong! Here it is, the middle of March and the trees are all budded out. The buds opening means the season is finished. When they bud out, the sap gets cloudy and isn't fit for making into syrup. I missed the entire season because I refused to pay attention to what the trees were doing. Saying I am frustrated would be an understatement.

Barrel Stove Evaporator

I have learned a valuable lesson this year about being prepared when nature, or the weather says it's time. I saw it happening and still doubted it was really time. Had I been more open minded about how things were going this year, I would have seen the signs. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. It's easy to look back and see what I did wrong and what I ignored. Saying I will be ready next year is also probably not true either. This year, I was pretty busy with work and other obligations that limited the time I would have been able to dedicate to sap collecting. It's a very time intensive activity, for me at least. We live a little more than an hour drive from the Estate. Going up twice a week to collect sap is time consuming and costly just in fuel. If the sap isn't running very well, then I make the trip for little reward. The times when it is running well, I come back with all the buckets full and it feels like I didn't waste a trip. We do the boiling at the "city house" and using a wood-fired evaporator, it takes constant care. That means I spend the entire day watching water boil while feeding the fire. It is very relaxing and the sound of the fire and the smell of the evaporating sap makes the day very enjoyable. That is why I plan the time I will have so I can dedicate the time without feeling rushed or having to start/stop multiple times. Generally, in a weekend, we can boil, finish and bottle about 1.5-2 gallons of syrup. My evaporator isn't big, so that is about the best we can do right now. I have plans for a larger evaporator/pan setup, I haven't had time to make it a reality yet.

Bottled maple syrup

In the end, I am a bit sad that the season ended and I never collected any sap or made any syrup. We don't sell any syrup, it's only for our personal use which means no one is out anything except us. The good news, we have lots of syrup left from last year and the previous year and we are not likely to run out anytime soon. The bad news, I don't have any to add to the collection for a 2024 "vintage". The trees will be there next spring and hopefully I will plan better and be able to act when the time is right.