Monday, March 14, 2011

The Sugar Bush - My World

When spring thaw begins in Canada, the maple sap starts to run. The sap is collected from maple trees and turned into the delicious product, Maple Syrup.

We went to the *sugar bush on Sunday. Here's some photos from our outing.

Click on a pic to enlarge it
The wagon ride through the bush.
The horsepower.
The tour included a section of the stand preserved historically, and depicted the old way of collecting the sap and turning it into maple syrup. The operation today is modern and much more efficient.
The old sap collection method
The old method of boiling down the sap with a wood fire
Modern sap collection via tubing strung from tree to tree
The tubing surrounds the perimeter of the stand of about a thousand trees
There are sap ladders at various locations to keep it flowing
The modern method of boiling down the sap, a wood fire is still used
The finished product -  Maple Syrup

*Sugar bush refers to a forest stand which is exploited for maple syrup. The tree canopy is dominated by sugar maple or black maple trees. The maples are tapped for their maple sap in early spring, whenever the weather has warmed so that day-time temperatures are above freezing — 0 °C (32 °F) — while night-time temperatures remain below freezing. Typically there will be snow cover on the ground during the tapping period. The tapping period ends when the supply of maple sap ceases, as when night-time temperatures begin to be above freezing.
From Wikipedia

See more photos from around the world HERE

25 comments:

  1. I love the bottle the maple syrup comes in! Looks like a fantastic tour.

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  2. Beautiful pictures and a very interesting post. I knew about the traditional method of collecting syrup but had no idea of how it has evolved.

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  3. Wow, that looks good!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  4. What wonderful memories you just rekindled! When I attended high school in Connecticut, I had the thrill of helping run a small maple syruping operation for my school for 3 years... it was so much fun! Now I'm a confirmed "Syrup Snob" -- only the real deal will do for me!

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  5. When we were celebrating our 50 th anniversary of the liberation from the Nazis in May 5th, 1945, our whole village was decorated and relatives orf our Canadian liberators came to visit the Netherlands. There was a Canadian couple staying at my neighbours'. They had maple syrup, and we baked pancakes all sitting in front of our houses in our street. Pancakes go very well with maple syrup!

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  6. I love scenes like this and I love the maple syrup.

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  7. It must be so interesting to see maple syrup being made, I can almost taste the syrup. Lovely shots.

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  8. Well, I feel really silly - I had no idea that maple sap wasn't still collected with individual tree taps and buckets.

    Educational value aside, it looks like a fun outing (beautiful horses). I hope you were able to bring some of the finished product home with you.

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  9. What a fun and informative post for the day! I love the bottle!! And I love maple syrup! I would have loved to have followed along and joined the group! Your photos are the next best thing to being there!! Hope you have a great week!

    Sylvia

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  10. Great post - I've never seen this before and enjoyed the photos and explanation.

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  11. Karen, just think of the first person who said "I think I'll just poke a hole in this tree and then heat up whatever comes out and see what happens." It is nearly as amazing as the first person who decided to eat an avocardo or calf's brains.

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  12. Amazing post
    looks all fantastic !!!!
    Great shots .......

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  13. Thanks for a very enlightening post. I love maple syrup and this is a great tour.

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  14. Wonderful winter shots. Looks like you had a exciting trip.

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  15. that´s interesting, thanks for sharing. :)

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  16. Hi - thanks for visiting my blog - you may like my other one as well - cant give you link it makes your page go wonky!!! But you can find a link on the blog you have already visited.

    Saw some Sugar Bush when I was in Ohio - like the fact that you cab just harvest it for ever!

    Cheers Stewart M - Australia

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  17. Wonderful post, I would just love being there in the woods. Wonderful photos and I love the cute bottle of syrup.

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  18. beau reportage photographique, et l'idee est tres bonne de nous montrer tout le chemin .

    Publicity ;o) Every Friday (and the Weekend), The Challenge "Walk In The Street Photography"

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  19. HI
    That is interesting.I never have experience about traditional method of collecting syrup.

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  20. Very interesting, thanks ! I am getting more and more a little Mrs Wikipedia. I ate Maple Syrup for the first time in 1971 when I was on holidays in Madison at my American aunt!

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  21. Am amazing process beautifully captured here. It makes me wonder who thought it up.

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  22. Yum! Thanks for the info, it's interesting to see the differences from original to moderns methods.

    A long time ago my first husband and I tapped some birches. I don't remember that we paid much attention to the temperatures, but the sap quit running as soon as the leaves opened. It was like the faucet had been closed --running one evening, then none the next day.

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  23. What an interesting, informative, and fun trip. Made for some lovely snowy shots in the woods. Mickie

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  24. YAY! Maple syrup. Great tour, Karen!

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