Maple season has been something special for us this year. I had to chuckle when I was repeatedly asked, ”Isn’t that a lot of work?” Honestly, what is life if not a spectrum of effort? I just have the self-chosen inclination to enjoy the shades of that spectrum that exist to scare off people who don’t know how to really earn a good time. 

Also I like sweets. So in this case I am highly motivated by the proverbial carrot. We’ve been boiling for three weeks now, more each week, but this weekend we ended up gathering around 90 gallons of sap by the end. As I write this, the boil continues. We may not get it all cooked, but hopefully we do so that there is room in the barrels for next weekend. 

Unfortunately this is one of those hobbies that quickly goes from zero to 90 if you aren’t paying attention. I can’t imagine how much work it would be to do this for a living, but I also know that would be a fast way to turn me diabetic if I was left alone with the end product too long.

This weekend, the weather let up and we were able to bring my grandfather out to help watch the fire and enjoy some boiled eggs. We tried not to work him too hard. Needless to say the situation was well supervised between him and my kids. 

The sun was shining and we had to empty our buckets twice that day, which gave us something to do. My youngest insisted on toting the barrel himself. Fortunately his attention span ran out for that task about the same time we arrived with the barrel at our first tree. After that stop it would have proved to be a much heavier task for him. 

As sap boiling tends to be a rather tedious task for those in their youthful years, it proved fortunate that the boys had a number of warm weather activities nearby to keep their energy directed. With their great-grandfather in tow, they first visited the sand pile for a spell, digging a moat and developing their communication skills whilst excavating against one another. Shortly after they escorted him down to the chicken pen, where they quickly decided to unleash the flock out of their gate and upon the feet of their elders. Having mitigated that emergency, we made our way back up to the evaporator, which was burning in the driveway, and enjoyed some boiled eggs we had cooked in the sap. 

Lunch was had and a few pictures taken before it was time for Granddad to go home. I tended the fire the remainder of the day with the boys, soaking up as much of the sun as could be gleaned from our clearing in the woods. 

It was a week that could be remembered for many other reasons. Our greenhouse took quite a beating from the recent windstorm. A large task awaits us, as soon as the weather permits, to rebuild what was destroyed, but for now, it’s sweet to enjoy the moment. A gentle breeze, carrying with it the flavor of breakfast. Work is constant, but the blessings of each day are rarely so forward as they are watching the fire burn away the vapors of maple. 

The way out here food is a pursuit, a passion and a piece of our God-given peace. Maple is the dessert built for the soul, and worthy of a gathering of family, both during the boil and many breakfasts to come.