Rule-Breaking Season Comes To An End

An unusual but surprisingly good maple season has come to an end! It was a season that broke all of the rules. The first two weeks starting on March 7th were notable for the warm temperatures and lack of frosty nights. The sap ran continuously even though conventional wisdom said it shouldn't. Then, unlike the usual spring pattern where the weather warms up towards the end of March, we entered a cooling trend. This produced a record flow of sap over Easter weekend. The sap flow continued until our last boil on April 1st, when very wintery weather returned with temps as low as -15 over night. For the first time in our 44 year career, the season ended with cold rather than warm weather. Usually the sap runs after a cold snap, but this year it didn't. We thought we might get one more run this week when it finally thawed out, but the trees seem to have had enough. A humbling and happy reminder that there are still a few mysteries left in life!

Our shelves are now full of delicious maple syrup, maple sugar and maple butter. The sugarhouse will be open for sales this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoon from 1pm - 5pm. After that, please call (705) 835-5780 to check our hours or to arrange a time to pick up syrup. Our hours will be irregular as we head to the woods to wash and take down our lines. Happy spring!

A Great Easter Weekend, And Still Sugaring Off

After a shaky, too-warm start to the maple syrup season, the weather returned to a more wintery pattern and we are still collecting sap and making syrup. This weekend was picture-perfect sap weather, and it was a real joy to see the steam pouring out of the sugarhouse while so many wonderful friends came to visit. Thanks to all of the familiar faces and to the new first-time visitors who came to share part of their Easter holiday with us! We remain open daily from 1pm - 5pm daily, and are well stocked with delicious 2016 syrup, maple butter, and maple sugar. Come say "hi" and experience the unique Canadian tradition of sugaring off before this special time of year flies by!

Some of our favourite young friends help to check the buckets

Lots of interesting things to learn and see inside the sugarhouse

A beautiful sight - maple steam on a bluebird day

Come Stock Up!

Great news! For those that have been jonesing for a BIG fix of your favourite, world-class maple syrup we now have half-gallon and gallon sizes available! Come visit us this weekend from 1pm - 5pm and get yours while it lasts.

Maple Butter Available

The sap has been running a little every day all week, despite the fact that we have not had frost for many days. We are grateful for every drop this year! Also, the upcoming forecast does look colder which is great news, meaning the season is not over just yet. We have now had time to make some of our special award-winning maple butter, so those of you that were yearning for it last weekend can come stock up! We remain open daily from 1pm - 5pm. Look forward to seeing your smiling faces!

We Have Syrup!

The sap has been running steadily since Monday with no frost since then, and we have been able to make a small amount of extremely delicious syrup! We will open tomorrow afternoon for sales from 1pm - 5pm and will be open daily during the same hours from here on. Due to the unfortunately warm-looking forecast and the small amount of production thus far, we will have only 1 litre, half-litre, and 250ml sizes available this weekend. It is possible that this season may be very short, but there is no way to know if the forecast will be correct or how long the trees will continue to produce sap before the buds sprout. As usual, Mother Nature has us at her mercy. It sounds like a beautiful sunny weekend, so we look forward to seeing some of you at the farm soon! In the meantime, pray for overnight frost!!

Spring Has Sprung!

March roared in like a lion last week with that big snowstorm, but we've been busy working in the sugarbush whenever the weather permitted, and we've now got all of our trees tapped and ready to go! It was warm enough today for the sap to start to run, which allows us to begin checking the lines for leaks and problems that are impossible to find when things are frozen up. It's slippery going in the woods now with the fresh, quickly melting snow and we've got approximately 30kms of tubing to check. The forecast is looking warm, so with any luck we will be making fresh syrup soon! Please continue to check in for updates, it seems like spring has sprung!

First day of 2016!

It's our favourite time of year again! Today was our first day in the sugarbush tapping trees to prepare for the 2016 season. It was a glorious bluebird day, and we had all hands on deck. It has been an unpredictable winter, with many swings between unseasonably mild temperatures and frigid snowy weather. Mother Nature is in charge as always, and we are happily along for the exciting ride - no one knows what the springtime will hold. We are due for another winter storm towards the end of this week, but we are getting to work while the good weather allows. Stay tuned for updates as the season unfolds!

Sugarbush Shenanigans. No snowshoes needed this year!

All hands on deck

Sapsicle! It was warm enough in the sunshine that there was some sap dripping out of the freshly drilled holes. Also cold enough to freeze after dripping. You could definitely taste the sugar in the sap, a sweet springtime brain freeze