Maple Tapping Time

This past week we tapped our maple trees, something we've been doing for several years and really enjoy. It started as something for my husband to do during February and March, which is between all the hunting seasons and farming seasons, pretty much a down time for him. He remembered how all the families around here tapped their sugar trees and made cane molasses when he was growing up (along with raising their own meat and just about everything else the family ate). So he found someone with a vat for sale and we started a yearly tradition.
   We usually do this a lot early than we did this year, but the weather wasn't right for it until the last couple of weeks. Warm days and cold nights make the sap run. This year we also hung fewer buckets, only 23, and ended up with almost 3 gallons. Plenty for us and our family and friends.
  Here are pictures, starting with Richard tapping trees and ending with the finished product. He boils it over a fire until it gets to a certain point, then I take it in the house, strain it and jar it. We had some on pancakes this morning and it was GOOD!!!