Droplets of Sap

On Saturday the annual ritual of maple sugaring got underway. Forty-five sap buckets now adorn the sugar maples (and a few red maples) that grow along the stone walls on Bald Hill Road. 

Someone up the road is collecting the sap, "borrowing" the Mitchell maple trees for the season of sap collecting.

 

 

A droplet of sap fell into the bucket every 3 to 4 seconds under sunny skies at mid-afternoon today. The temperature reached into the high 40s, after an overnight of below freezing.  Many more drops need to fall - 40 gallons worth -- to make a gallon of syrup. The conditions were good today, with the cold night--warm, sunny day combo. The weather the rest of the week -- clouds, rain, and snow -- will likely bring the flow to a very, slooooow drip. The season is just getting underway though, so plenty of time for the sap to flow and collect in the buckets along Bald Hill.