Balm - Maple Syrup

Just minutes from home, the roads are littered with different Maple Syrup makers. Like I said in a post previous to this, you can bet that Sunday sale is prohibited. I really wonder how long some of these signs have been fixed to their posts and grounded in our region. I have grown up seeing these signs all my life and remember taking trips with my Dad to get our jug filled with that sweet dark maple blood. I didn't buy any today, but I can assure a taste test in the days to come. I suggest everyone go out and support these local farmers and get a taste of maple Syrup country.

As winter slips away into springtime and the daytime temperature begins to rise above freezing, many families in Ontario return to their sugar bush to make maple syrup. The boiling of sap to make maple syrup and maple sugar is one of the oldest traditions in North America and is part of Canada’s heritage. Canada is famous around the world for its pure Maple Syrup.
Maple Syrup Time
Spring arrives with trees still bare, The farmers work with special care To tap the sweet natural fare, It’s maple syrup time.
The days are warm, the nights are cool, The snow melts into puddles and pools, The farmers prepare their tapping tools, It’s maple syrup time.
The Native People’s long ago Discovered the sap that dripped and flowed, They cooked it down—the process was slow, In maple syrup time.
Tradition calls for buckets and spiles And lots of wood split into piles, Lots of work but lots of smiles, In maple syrup time.
The pipeline is a current way To bring in the sap that drips each day, Gravity helps sap make its way, In maple syrup time.
With forty parts of sap to start The boiling is a major part, The steam boils off leaving one small part, It’s maple syrup time.
With planning, work and boiling done The tastiest part has just begun. There’s lots of maple recipe fun, From maple syrup time.
The next time that you taste this treat Think of the amazing feat. Sap from trees into syrup to eat! It’s maple syrup time. - Elaine McDougall, 1996