The Early Days

As a kid, I heard from older family members that 'they' (Grandpa and others of that and the previous generation) made syrup on top of the escarpment by putting the open pan on a crevice and building a fire below. For years, I had looked for this crevice and never found it.

One year, as Kevin was cutting firewood about 2/3 of the way back on the property, he found an old scar deep in a maple tree that looked like it might have been a tap hole. We started our quest again and after a few exploratory hikes, found the crevice. It was far enough back in the property that I felt sorry for the horses and people who climbed the escarpment and slogged through the snow to make syrup in those days.

Old Syrup Site: Maximizing the Landscape for Syrup Making

The oldest record we have of syrup making in this bush was the 1861 census which listed the agricultural production of the land inclusive of 90 lb. of maple syrup. I am the 5th generation of my family to live and make syrup here.

Fire, Ice and Syrup

Syrup making in the 1960's on the escarpment was a great place for kids to learn from their Grandpa. He was and still is the only person that I know who used his jack knife to make cedar shavings to light the fire from both ends of the open pan we used to boil the syrup in. We collected the sap from trees just below and on the escarpment where the northwest winds drive the snow deep against the rock, often freezing the sap. Now we throw the ice away to ensure high quality syrup. Maybe we made poor quality dark syrup. I only remember it tasting good in my school lunches... straight from the bowl with a slice of buttered bread.

Did we really sit in the open winter air and make syrup like this? Today we whine when it is cold in the sugar shack!

Why write?

Grandpa taught me to appreciate the escarpment, the bush, the trees, the flowers, and the food it could supply.