The 2023 maple season came in like a lion. Unseasonably high daytime temperatures mid-February led to the earliest sap run in our family’s 119 year history. Not only was the sap running early, it was plentiful: we made 200 gallons of syrup in February, For reference, that is about twenty times what we normally make in the second month of the year. With a spring that productive, we can only hope for a favourable finish to the 2023 maple season.
As reported by CTV Barrie, syrup producers all over Ontario are optimistic that the favourable spring temperatures will extend from March Break and continue well into April. For us, “favourable” means warm sunny days and nights where the temperature dips down below zero. The up and down is important because without the nighttime cold, the sap doesn’t run.
It is a tradeoff that our customers seem willing to accept. Many local families have been enjoying the delicious taste of maple in our pancake house for generations. The chance to come to the sugar camp and smell the sap boiling and enjoy fresh syrup over pancakes or french toast is worth a few more cold nights.
Soon it will be Maple Weekend. Organized by the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association, the two-day event runs over the April 1-2 weekend promoting Ontario Maple Syrup with syrup making exhibits at producers across the province. We always like to be boiling on Maple Weekend and hopefully, this year, the weather will comply.
Come visit us and see how we make syrup, enjoy a maple meal, or take a horse-drawn wagon ride through our maple bush. We are open daily from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm until April 10th.
