My grandfather and uncles had a sugarbush (hardwood maple) woodlot. Every springtime they would get the Clydesdale team out with the sled and a big vat in the back. All the kids would gather the sap from the pails under the taps on the trees.
This was a big springtime tradition. They would then take the sap to the sugar shack where they kept the evaporator, fired up with wood. The evaporator would be running for about a week or two, as long as the sap was running. It needed to be freezing at night and thawing during the day.
It would take about 32 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
There was usually an argument of some kind as to how thick the syrup should be. Grandma liked it light, grandpa liked it dark and a little thicker.
Great times, good memories, the real stuff.
