22 Apr It All begins in the Sugarwoods

Twenty six thousand trees? So many acres of land, steep, ledgy sidehills with magnificent views of the mountains across the valley, new sugarwoods, and old sugarwoods that my Dad was tapping since 1943, miles and miles and miles of walking in the woods. How could you know, see, each individual tree? Well, it’s part of sugaring! You visit each and every one several times each season, not looking from afar, but actually laying hands on each tree, over and over. Mind boggling, staggering to think about, isn’t it? Almost incomprehensible, and yet, I understand. The woods is managed with an eye toward the health of each and every maple. Biodiversity is the variety of all living things and their interaction. A forester considers the whole, a healthy ecosystem, and makes a plan that will support the trees for generations to come. Different species, thinning, even the ground cover is considered.

Long before the sap begins to run in the spring, the woods has been gone over with great care. Originally, evaluating, then logging, then installation of an efficient system of saplines, with so many details considered at each step. Maintanence of the lines brings you back through the woods, then the tapping of each maple, done with great care and thought as to location of the new taphole. Only the few and chosen are allowed to tap the trees. After tapping, as the season progresses, back through the woods over and over, checking for leaks and downed branches. And finally, at the end of sugaring, a final trip through, pulling each spout as soon as possible to initiate the healing of the tap holes. Laying hands on 26,000 trees? yes, and over and over again.