This seems to be a time of getting around to things that have been percolating in the ideas section of my brain for a while; this blog, spicy hot chocolate, and now, maple syrup. Zmr and I have talked about tapping trees for years. There has never been a question of actually wanting to do it or not. Who doesn’t love real maple syrup? Who wants to sell a kidney or a child to buy enough real maple syrup for a family of 7? With lots of littles needing to be fed and changed, and just kept alive in general, the sap season has always snuck up on us and passed us by.
But not this year. Anyone who has read Little House in the Big Woods knows that this extended snow season interspersed with warmer days is good for syrupin’. We missed the first run of sap but even having started last weekend we should get a return on our investment in taps. We did buy a couple small galvanized buckets too, but back to the whole -not wanting to sell body parts or offspring- over $20 per bucket and lid for the traditional looking set up was a little steep. So, being in New Hampshire, we made do with what we’ve got; in our case, emptied vinegar containers. I buy distilled white vinegar by the gallon for cleaning so I have been able to stock up a few jugs. I am hoping to score some buckets on craigslist eventually but in the meantime we’re making do with some good old fashioned Yankee ingenuity. I have to confess, we did not wholly come up with this on our own. We purchased Backyard Sugarin’ this winter. The author suggests using washed out milk jugs. We get our milk from a local farm in glass bottles, so that wasn’t an option.
Improvising and just jumping in feet first has been so worth it. Zchildren were just about vibrating with anticipation while gathering our supplies last Saturday. It was one of those beautiful sunny days, where the sky seems such a brilliant blue you could almost touch it, and it was warm. When zmr drilled into the trees the sap gushed out, zchildren sticking their fingers in the flow to taste the sweetness of it. At one point ztwinone was able to place his hands under one tap, drinking from his cupped hands, happily slurping away. It reminded me of the delight I had in tapping trees with my father when I was young. The children checked the buckets almost every hour, just like I did too.
There may still be snow on the ground. The wind may be howling tonight, and it may get as cold as -10 degrees. But the sap is flowing with the sweet promise of spring, and amber golden days as well as syrup.
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11 (ESV)
stumblingtoholiness 
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