My Husband isn't a fan of my hobbies

[TrickyBob]

I told him I want to tap our maple trees since they are sugar maples and fully grown. 

He was all "but it's so hard and I'll drill the hole but you have to do the rest!"

I'm like "dude...I will drill the darn hole, tap the tap in, and change out the buckets!" 

He then admitted that he didn't know it was that simple. Men...see if I make him any pancakes for my fancypants homemade syrup.


Our winter so far has been fantastic for it, below freezing at night and above freezing during the day.

Time to make those stupid trees work for me! 



That and I just want to give making maple syrup a go, it sounds like it could be fun. 

Though it does take 10 gallons of sap to make 1 quart of syrup. 

[melindafelinda]

Poor tree. You are stealing it's blood! Blood!

[soozy87]

This sounds cool. If I had maple trees I would tap them too!

[spitforspat]

That sounds cool and totally something I would be in to. If we had space I would want honeybees!

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 11:40:49 GMT -5 melindafelinda said:

Poor tree. You are stealing it's blood! Blood!

No pancakes for you. NONE!

[TrickyBob]

You have to boil your syrup outside though. But once it is reduced you can bring it inside to finish.

I'll let you know how this goes or if I end up without eyebrows and sugar burns.

ETA: Did anyone else know that maple sap is actually the consistency of water? I didn't know that. 

[mamasaurus]

I have always wondered if it makes the tree more susceptible to disease or anything like that. Maple syrup is certainly delicious, though. I am a syrup snob and only buy the real stuff.

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 11:45:02 GMT -5 mamasaurus said:

I have always wondered if it makes the tree more susceptible to disease or anything like that. Maple syrup is certainly delicious, though. I am a syrup snob and only buy the real stuff.

From what I read, as long as the tree is an adult and 12 inches around or larger, then it should be alright. They say it takes 1 year to 3 years for a tap hole to heal. Plus you pull the tap out at the end of the season and don't put it in again until the next winter. 

You can certainly kill a tree by putting in too many taps at once though.

[adhdfashion]

This sounds totally cool! I kept bees when I was a kid.

[papie]

Jan 30, 2013 11:43:30 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

You have to boil your syrup outside though. But once it is reduced you can bring it inside to finish.

I'll let you know how this goes or if I end up without eyebrows and sugar burns.

ETA: Did anyone else know that maple sap is actually the consistency of water? I didn't know that. 

I thought everyone knew that?  Hmm, I guess there aren't sugar shacks everywhere where you can go eat and walk in the woods and taste the sap in the buckets, eh?  Must be a local thing...

[TrickyBob]

All you bee keepers have balls; I'd be SO scared of getting stung.

I have a mud dauber wasp that built a mud hut on my back screen door, I gave him the side eye ALL summer for the past two years. But it's the only flying stinging thing I can tolerate because it leaves me alone. However, I think I inadvertently killed it this fall.

I could not imagine a ton of bees just chilling in the yard. However, honey IS good. Mmmm.

[sawyerthedestroyer]

Well damn, now I'm going to make pancakes.

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 12:04:51 GMT -5 papie said:

Jan 30, 2013 11:43:30 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

You have to boil your syrup outside though. But once it is reduced you can bring it inside to finish.

I'll let you know how this goes or if I end up without eyebrows and sugar burns.

ETA: Did anyone else know that maple sap is actually the consistency of water? I didn't know that. 

I thought everyone knew that?  Hmm, I guess there aren't sugar shacks everywhere where you can go eat and walk in the woods and taste the sap in the buckets, eh?  Must be a local thing...

Nope. I'm sure on a maple farm, but around here we don't. And if we do, I don't know about them. 

[papie]

Jan 30, 2013 12:06:49 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Jan 30, 2013 12:04:51 GMT -5 papie said:

I thought everyone knew that?  Hmm, I guess there aren't sugar shacks everywhere where you can go eat and walk in the woods and taste the sap in the buckets, eh?  Must be a local thing...

Nope. I'm sure on a maple farm, but around here we don't. And if we do, I don't know about them. 

Here it is a mandatory spring activity, like apple picking in the fall.  Everyone goes

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 12:08:08 GMT -5 papie said:

Jan 30, 2013 12:06:49 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Nope. I'm sure on a maple farm, but around here we don't. And if we do, I don't know about them. 

Here it is a mandatory spring activity, like apple picking in the fall.  Everyone goes

If I ever come to Canada, I will walk around and taste sap.

[Deleted]

So uh. I like syrup lol.

This sounds like a pretty fun activity. We don't have anything here but pecan trees. I might plant one this year.

[daisyheadmaizie]

That is pretty cool.

That was always one my favorite parts in the Little House books. The big sugaring dance. Yep, I'm a big nerd.

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 12:33:33 GMT -5 skippingstones said:

So uh. I like syrup lol.

This sounds like a pretty fun activity. We don't have anything here but pecan trees. I might plant one this year.

I would trade all the syrup in the world to own a pecan tree. 

[Deleted]

When I first read the title I read it as 'my husband isn't a fan of my boobies'

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 13:28:14 GMT -5 @utahlove13 said:

When I first read the title I read it as 'my husband isn't a fan of my boobies'

That would be grounds for divorce. ahaha. 

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2013 13:25:27 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

Jan 30, 2013 12:33:33 GMT -5 skippingstones said:

So uh. I like syrup lol.

This sounds like a pretty fun activity. We don't have anything here but pecan trees. I might plant one this year.

I would trade all the syrup in the world to own a pecan tree. 

I'll keep you in mind if we plant one

[textbookcase]

Jan 30, 2013 11:40:46 GMT -5 @smace said:

Way better than textbook's bee aspirations.

Hey, now! I love honey!

No maple trees around these parts.

[Deleted]

Even the reduced sap is pretty watery, right?

I have this awesome mental image of you stirring a giant vat of sap over an outside cooking fire.

Please wear a Laura Ingalls getup when you do it!

[lishie]

My FIL and his wife started tapping their trees last year (they have 25 acres and eventually want to tap them all) and started with 5 trees. They had an amazing amount of syrup, and it was delicious. They did some light and some dark (I think how much you boil dictates the color) and both were great, but I preferred the lighter syrup.

I think this is an awesome hobby!

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 15:38:15 GMT -5 @stellasmom said:

Even the reduced sap is pretty watery, right?

I have this awesome mental image of you stirring a giant vat of sap over an outside cooking fire.

Please wear a Laura Ingalls getup when you do it!

True story, if I could go and become Laura Ingalls like, I would. I love love loved Little House. And Laura grew up to be so gorgeous in the show. 


You actually reduce until it is the color you want. A lighter syrup is going to be thinner than a dark. It's like boiling sugar and water to make candy. 

[textbookcase]

Cambria was Laura Ingalls Wilder in a living history museum today

[alzi]

This is probably flameful: I prefer fake sugary syrup to maple.

[UMaineTeach]

Jan 30, 2013 11:43:30 GMT -5 TrickyBob said:

I'll let you know how this goes or if I end up without eyebrows and sugar burns.

You'll be ok! My hometown does it as a 6th grade science project, no deaths yet.

The 2nd graders at my school take a field trip to a sugar shack owned by one of the teacher's families.

Have fun

[UMaineTeach]

Jan 30, 2013 18:52:13 GMT -5 alzi said:

This is probably flameful: I prefer fake sugary syrup to maple.

Maine born and raised

seafood and fish :N:
real maple syrup :N:

this place is so wasted on me
at least I like potatoes

[TrickyBob]

Jan 30, 2013 18:52:13 GMT -5 alzi said:

This is probably flameful: I prefer fake sugary syrup to maple.

I don't like syrup, at all. Nor do I like pancakes. 

I just want to make maple syrup to A) see if I can and B) see if it tastes better than store bought.

Don't get me wrong, I eat it once in a blue moon but it's not my favorite breakfast food.