Closed Until Further Notice

Maple syrup making lends itself to social distancing -- the sap continues to run, we continue to work in the sugarbush, and Jesse is putting in long hours into the night watching over the evaporator as the sap steams and boils into fresh maple syrup. 

And while we will carry on producing syrup, upon reflection we have decided to close our farm to the public until further notice. We do this in response to Covid 19, to ensure we are doing our part in maximizing social distancing. Orders that have been placed will be held until further notice, and we will be monitoring the situation closely with everyone else and will reopen if possible. 

Thank you very much for understanding. We hope these efforts will help level the curve and allow for a quicker return to the sweet parts of life that we are all missing for now. Enjoy this slowed-down time, an opportunity to simplify, and we will be seeing you all soon in good health.

Opening Weekend

Happy first day of Spring! We are so lucky to live where we do and to be immersed in the natural beauty that surrounds us. Even in these uncertain times, the natural rhythms of spring continue -- we have seen a robin, the snowdrops are popping out, and the sap has been flowing very well. 

We have been able to make and bottle some exceptional maple syrup, and we will be open FOR SALES ONLY this Saturday and Sunday from 1pm - 5pm. Unfortunately, we will not be able to offer tours, samples, or sugar-on-snow at this time. Our walking trail is marked, and you are more than welcome to take a self-guided tour through the sugarbush and enjoy some fresh country air.

For the safety of our customers and our family, we ask you to respect social distancing etiquette and stay home if you are feeling ill, and to substitute safe-distance smiles for hugs when visiting. We realize that many friends will be looking forward to visiting with Ken after his hip surgery, but to ensure his optimal health while healing he and Rene will be remaining in the house and not accepting visitors at this time.

Customers who have placed orders will be contacted individually. Your orders have been set aside and you are welcome to pick them up during our open hours or we are happy to hold onto them indefinitely until arrangements suit you later in the season. If you would like to place an order, you may do so via phone (705) 835-5780 or Facebook -- Please include your name, order, and contact info in your voice messages. Unfortunately, we have not had time to make maple sugar or maple butter yet this season and so these products will not be available this weekend. 

Please contact us if you have any questions at all, and we so look forward to seeing some familiar faces!

Some Different Challenges in 2020

The 2020 Maple Syrup Season is just around the corner, and we McCutcheons have been busy working the woods tapping trees, repairing tons of squirrel damage, and making sure that all of the equipment in the sugarhouse is in working order in preparation of those first runs of precious maple sap. 

Unfortunately, we have had a few stumbling blocks to contend with this year and we are grateful for your understanding and patience as we work through them. The work in the bush has been extra challenging this year, as we have two injured team members -- as some of you know, Ken has been waiting for a hip replacement surgery since last spring, and in a stroke of unfortunate luck, Colette managed to fracture her tibial plateau while kiteboarding in February. Nevertheless, thanks to Jesse's boundless energy and Carley and Rene's assistance, all of our trees are tapped and ready!

We are so thrilled that Ken will finally be receiving his new hip on March 10th. Obviously this is very tricky timing for Maple Syrup producers and as such we are going to to remain closed to visitors for a little while. The remaining members of our team will work on producing and bottling syrup while Ken is recovering, and we anticipate opening for visitors after the March Break. 

In the meantime, we would be very happy to reserve syrup for our loyal customers, so if you would like to place an order please either call (705) 835-5780 and leave a message with your request as well as your name and phone number, or private message the same information through Facebook. 

Once again, thank you so much for your continued support and patience. Look forward to seeing you all later this spring!

Last Day of 2019

Do we look happy?? We made it through another maple syrup season!

Yesterday was our last day of collecting sap and boiling syrup for 2019. We will remain open from 1pm - 5pm daily for sales, and will do so up to and including Easter Sunday. After that, please call (705) 835-5780 to confirm hours or make arrangements. 

It was literally a short and sweet year, will post more on that later but for now, a big thank you to all of our friends and loyal customers who stopped by over the past few weeks. Now bring on that summer weather!!

End Is Near!

You just can’t second guess mother nature! We thought the maple season was ending yesterday afternoon with the very warm temperatures. We even started emptying tanks and washing up but the sap wouldn’t stop running! It ran slowly all night and we’ll be boiling again this afternoon. 

For those who have been patiently waiting, we now have delicious ‘Dark’ grade maple syrup available for sale in 1L, 2L, and 4L sizes. The sun is going to shine all day today. It will be a beautiful day to visit the sugarbush, and it might be the last chance to see the evaporator in action this year. Hope to see you between 1pm - 5pm!

Midnight Boil

The sap doesn’t punch a clock — if the temperature does not freeze at night it continues to run. Makes for a tired syrupmaker, but what a beautiful scene 🧡

Hope to see you today between 1pm and 5pm.

Lots To See And Learn On A Visit To The Sugarhouse!

Fresh syrup being drawn off the evaporator while Jesse and Ken keep a close eye.

We are hoping for a busy weekend with very mild temperatures predicted. The end of the season is drawing near, come out and visit between 1pm - 5pm!

Lots Of Sap!

It has been a happy week for sap lovers! Lot of very large runs this week. There has been a high concentration of sugar in the sap this year and it is producing beautiful maple syrup.

Come on by any day, we are open from 1pm - 5pm!

Opening Weekend!

We’ve got all hands on deck this snowy morning! After a busy week with big runs of sap we are finally working at bottling up our first batch of 2019!

Tomorrow will be our opening day, and we will be here from 1pm - 5pm with delicious, first-of-the-season Maple Syrup for you. Come for a visit, enjoy some sugar-on-snow, and stock up on liquid gold. We will be open every day now until the end of the season with the same hours, 1pm - 5pm.

Can’t wait to see you! 🍁🥞

Finally Some Action In The Sugarhouse!

The trees eventually thawed out yesterday, and the sap began to run very well through the night and into today. So much so, in fact, that we overflowed our storage tank! It is an extremely busy time for a syrup-maker trying to keep up with a heavy run of sap and getting the evaporator fired up for the first time since last year. Every bit of attention must go into the operation to ensure that no precious sap goes to waste, and that all of the equipment is running smoothly. 

The weather this weekend looks too cold again for sap, and so we should be able to work at filtering and finishing our first-run syrup and bottling it up. We anticipate that we will be able to open next weekend with fresh syrup for sale, but we will confirm the day and the hours closer to the end of next week. Please check this page or call (705) 835-5780 to hear a recorded message regarding our opening day. We can’t wait to welcome you to our sugarhouse soon!

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait!

So far, the 2019 maple syrup season is taking its time. Last year, we had syrup on the 21st of February. This year, while we have had some suitable weather to begin tapping the trees and preparing for the season, temperatures mild enough to get the sap running have eluded us, and don’t appear to be forecast for a little while yet. Mother Nature is the ultimate boss on this International Women’s Day; she’s as strong as they come and does exactly as she wishes! We are waiting patiently until she’s ready to bring some spring sweetness, and in the meantime we will have all of our trees tapped and will be well prepared when it does arrive.

Last year’s crop is sold out and we remain closed until we have some fresh syrup available. Please keep an eye here or on our Facebook page for updates, and hopefully we’ll be boiling soon!

Longest Season On Record

The 2018 Maple Syrup Season was a record-breaker of sorts. April 23rd was our final day of production, the latest we've had in our history of making maple syrup. The previous record of April 22nd happened way back in 1978! Although this year's season was extremely long, the yield was average overall due to many stretches of cold weather throughout.

You will find us this Saturday at the annual festival in Elmvale. Bundle up and come on out for one last maple hurrah! You can enjoy a pancake breakfast, tour a local sugarbush, watch the log-sawing competition, have some maple sugar-on-snow, and most importantly stock up on McCutcheon's Maple Syrup 😉 Hope to see you there!

Open Easter Weekend

https://www.facebook.com/McCutcheonsMapleSyrup/videos/1653938574695083/

We have had a few inquiries, and yes, we are open for visitors this Easter weekend from 1pm - 5pm daily, including Good Friday!

This week we finally broke through the cold spell, and the above-zero daytime temperatures were exactly what we needed for the sap to run again. The sugarhouse shelves are well stocked with all the delicious, fresh maple goodness you need to complete your Easter feasts! Hope to see you

Finally Steam After Many Days of Teasing Temperatures.

It’s been over a week of freezing nights and daytime temperatures that crept up towards zero or barely above. As a result, we were getting very short and small dribbles of sap coming into the tank in the afternoons, but not quite enough to fire up the evaporator. Our sap tank has been building up a frozen sap-burg, as you can see! Today we finally had enough to boil down, and it sure was nice to smell that maple steam.

We remain open 1pm - 5pm daily, and still have lots of syrup that was made earlier this season available. Hopefully some warmer days are coming and we’ll get back into full swing soon!

A Unique Phenomenon - The Spring Sapsicle!

A unique phenomenon - the spring sapsicle! The conditions are just so close to being perfect for the sap to run with sunny skies and temperatures hovering right around the zero mark. Sapsicles occur when it is warm enough that the sap in the tree is liquid and trying to run, but freezes when it is exposed to the cold air as it drips out. Another of nature’s delights, however, we’d rather be making syrup! C’mon warmer days!!

Art & Maple Syrup

If you are looking for something to brighten up your weekend, come visit us at the farm and you’ll see something new on the shelves in addition to the usual spring sweetness - Carley’s art is now for sale! 

Those who are unfamiliar and wish to see more may do so at www.instagram.com/drifters.escape

The weather has been on the cool side this week and so we have had only very small runs of sap, if any at all. The weekend looks to be continuing along this trend, but we never quite know what Mother Nature will bring our way. We remain open daily from 1pm - 5pm. Happy March Break to all!!

2018 Syrup Is Here!!

It has been a quick, early start to the maple syrup season this year and we have produced our first batches of delicious, first-run liquid gold. We will be open at the farm beginning tomorrow, Saturday March 3rd from 1pm - 5pm, and we will be open daily for the remainder of the season with the same hours.

After a very spring-y spell kicking us off in February, the forecast shows a bit of a cooling trend in the coming days. Please dress warmly if you come for a visit, and bring your spring sweet tooths for a taste of sugar-on-snow. Keep your eye on the temperature and remember that it needs to be a bit above zero for the sap to run. We will also keep you posted on the goings-on at the sugarbush this weekend, so check back here for updates!

Hope to see you all very soon!

Happy Family Day from the McCutcheons!

I guess we’ve got syrup in our veins — the first signs of spring really get us running! We were out in the sugarbush today doing one of our favourite things, tapping!

Last year’s crop is long sold out, so we remain closed until we have some fresh syrup available. We will be sure to keep you all up to date as we continue our preparations, and you will be the first to know when we are open for the season. Happy Spring, from our family to yours!

Season Ends, Dark Syrup Is Available

 April 7th aka March 38th?!

We had a fairly significant snowfall overnight and things are looking a little different at the farm today then they were earlier this week. Despite the return of winter, our production season has come to an end. In the middle of the week, the spring peepers were singing, and the maple syrup flavour changed to signify the end of the season.

Those of you that have been patiently waiting will be pleased to know that we were able to produce some dark maple syrup in those final few days, and it is now available for purchase at the farm. We are open today, Saturday, and Sunday from 1pm - 5pm. After this, please call (705) 835-5780 to check our hours as we will be busy with sugarbush clean-up, and hoping for warmer days like everyone else!

Coming to the End

The sun is shining, the snow is melting, and the sap is slowing down to a trickle. We have not had frost overnight for a few nights now, and the forecast is not showing any in the near future. As such, we anticipate that this may be our final weekend of production for the season. It is beautiful weather for a walk in the sugarbush, and it may be your last chance to see sap in the lines until next year so come by, say "Hi", and stock up on natural sweetness. We are open today and tomorrow from 1pm - 5pm.