City On a Hill Academy

• Mar. 3, 2006 - Maple Sugaring

This morning we went to an Audubon Sanctuary to take a Maple Sugaring Tour with some of our local homeschooling friends. The tour began in "The Barn" where we found out some of the facts and figures about Maple Sugaring. Amy the Tree preparing to be tapped Amy the Tree being "drilled" First we found out how to identify a Maple Tree in the Winter: The tree's branches create an egg shape The branches are opposite one another The buds are chocolate brown, with 3 nibs The bark is rough and brown Second, we learned that 40 is an important number in Maple Sugaring. The Tree has to be 40 years old before it can safely be tapped(Without stressing it). It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. It has to be 40 degrees F for the sap to run regularly, and well. Today it was below 40 degrees, but the sap was just barely dripping on the "sunny side" of the trees! (that March sun is STRONG!) Because of the weather, we went to the last place first, so that the lady who was pouring out the maple syrup samples didn't have to wait in the cold for us to get back from our walk.    The "Evaporator" We went to the Sugar Shack, where we saw the evaporation process. It was chilly and steamy in there! Next we tasted our samples of Maple Syrup (mmmmmm ...... Sweet!) Finally, we got to take a walk, and find some Maple trees that were tapped. Along the way we saw a bunch of chickadees, a blue jay or two, and an Eastern Blue Bird in the distance.   The sap in the buckets was frozen! (I told you it was cold today!) We got to taste a bit of the sap that had melted in one bucket. It was clear, almost like water, and tasted just a teeny bit sweet. (Mom thought it tasted like the liquid from inside a fresh coconut)               The trees also had a bunch of "Sap-sickles" hanging from their branches. The chickadees were trying to get some of that. (Unfortunately, the camera didn't focus fast enough, so we don't have a picture of that.) After the chilliness of outside, we bought little packets of Maple Sugar candy (YUM!), and went into the Resource building, where there was a lovely set of picture windows, looking out on the bird garden. We saw a number of different varieties: Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dark Eyed Juncos, Tufted Titmice, MANY Chickadees, Sparrows, Crows, 1 Red Winged Blackbird, and     a female(?) Downy Woodpecker was polite enough to come visit right by the window, so that I could get some good pictures. So, there you have it! Our morning Maple Sugaring.

Post A Comment! :: Send to a Friend!