Spring is coming and the sap is running. Fond memories of life in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.
We moved to Barton,Vermont when I was 4 and Gail was 18 months. We moved back to South Portland, Maine when I was in 5th grade. Most of my childhood memories were from that time, the 50's and early 60's. Good memories of a simpler time and a simpler place.
Our friends were country/small town folks, salt of the earth. Every spring, withot fail, they would invite us to take part in the annual ritual of tapping the maple trees and boiling down the sap. The whole community, young and old, got involved and there was plenty to do.
The Maple groves were tended during the winter pruning deadwood and brush. Firewood was cut, hauled and stacked near the sugar shack. Buckets, spickets and equipment to haul the sap were readied.
Warming temperatures started the sap flowing and everything shifted into high gear. Trees were tapped and galvanized buckets and lids were installed.
We joined the Richardson family at their sugar shack one Saturday to help collect sap and boil it down to syrup. We followed the horse drawn tank wagon through the grove on muddy and snow covered tote roads. I remember dashing from tree to tree checking buckets. First order of business was to remove any drowned or swimming field mice and carry the buckets to the wagon where it was emptied into the tank. Then we would return the empty buckets to their trees and hang them back in place. But not before getting on our knees and letting the sweet sap drip into our mouths. A typical tree will produce 10 to 20 gallons of sap per season.
When the tank was full we would trudge back or ride on the back of the wagon to the sugar shack and transfer the sap to a holding tank. Sap was boiled down over a wood fire in batches in a large flat pan. It took around 3 hours to finish a batch. The sweet smell of the boiling sap is a sweet memory.
One part of the art of sugaring off was testing the consistency of the syrup with a long wooden paddle. It would drip off the paddle in sheets when it was ready. 40 gallons of sap produces 1 gallon of sweet amber syrup. Liquid gold.
Next came the tasting. A small amount of syrup was boiled down even further until it begame thick and tacky and a tray of snow was collected and placed on the table. The thick syrup was poured over the snow and immediately became solid and taffy-like. We twirlled up the sticky treat on forks. Sugar-on-Snow. Nothing like it. Guaranteed to pull the fillings out of your teeth. It was served with homemade sour pickles and raised donuts which had been cooked in the boiling sap.
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By this time all the kids were on a sugar high, but the festivities continued. We all received a small bowl of the boiled down syrup and a spoon to stir and whip it into thick creamy maple sugar candy. We saved some on waxed paper and gobbled up the rest, licking the bowl clean.
I remember feeling sick to my stomach after these events. Just the price you pay for all the fun.
Great memories.
