With the coming of spring, with freezing nights and warming days, the sap in the old sturdy maple trees starts its journey up the trees. For generations Diane's family has harvested the sweetness of the maple tree.

When she was a little girl Diane remembers peeking into her grandfather's sugar house at night to see her grandfather and uncles tending the fires and skimming the foam from boiling sap pans. Maple sugaring is a tradition in Diane's family.

Diane and her father continued the tradition by making maple syrup. They constructed a small sugaring hut, a simple shelter from the elements. Many days and nights of dedicated work brought forth delicious gold from the maple trees. Once you have partaken in the old fashioned task of maple sugaring you can sense in the warming of the weather that the sap is running and the urge to commence sugaring is irresistible!

The tradition has been carried down further as Diane has done maple sugaring with her own family. One year when Diane and her family were making maple syrup Diane drew and painted the pussy willows around the photograph of Sarah collecting sap with Tasha Corgi and used it as an early springtime card.

Some of the spiles that Diane's family have used through the years. The top spile has a patent date of 1877.

Diane's father built this simple sugaring hut. During sugaring season your sugaring hut gets to feel like home.

Sarah peeks under the bucket lid to find some of the sap had frozen. Although rusty on the outside inside the buckets are clean and shiny. It is so nice to be out in the coming of spring collecting sap, tending fires, and seeing and hearing the birds! Sarah's friends came over to help and experience the art of maple sugaring as they helped bore holes for spiles. With spoons the girls tasted the sap as it came out of the tree. Diane explained to Sarah's friends though the sap was clear and tasteless now, when boiled and evaporated down it would become a thickened maple syrup. The Johnsons held a party where they finished off a batch of syrup on their old cook range. After straining the syrup, Sarah and her friends made their own pancakes on the old wood cook stove and they were enjoyed with the delicious homemade maple syrup. It is very satisfying to make your own maple syrup.

What a pleasant sight it is to see the old buckets hung on the maple trees.

Today whilst out we heard wild geese calling, heading north, a sure sign of spring!

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Photographs by Diane Shepard Johnson

Photographs copyright © 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009: Diane Shepard Johnson

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