As if it happened overnight, the Red Maples are now blooming. POW! With little cold weather left in the forecast, these conditions both have brought our 2024 syrup season to an end.
This shot was taken earlier in the season before we burned most of the firewood, but it captures the spirit of the sugar house.
Since the middle of February, we had our fingers crossed for another big sap run. It was still early in the season, and in years passed, we have seen our best runs of the year near the end, even as late as the first or second week of March. Although we did see good weather patterns, the next “Big One” never really showed up. What we lacked in volume, however, we must have made up for with consistency. Without looking at the numbers, I will say that it sure feels like we boiled a few hundred gallons every day for the last six weeks. In an effort to make the best tasting syrup, we boil the sap as soon as it comes in from the trees. We are always a little weary by the end of it, but this one seemed particularly without respite. This is what you want, in some ways, as a syrup producer, but as a mere mortal human, we are always hoping for a colder winter. Those extended, freezing temperatures are good for our maple trees, and they are also good for the maple farmer because that is when we get to take a break from boiling in the sugar house. 2024 included another fairly warm month of February, which is certainly a trend we have seen in the last few years. Another season of the same simply leaves us hoping that those long, cold winters of Ashe County are not already a thing of the past.
Doug, steam, and the evaporator. When the evaporator is up to temp, it turns about 70 gallons of water to steam in an hour.
When it was all said and done, we were surprised to see that 2024 was our second best year ever: we made 110 gallons of syrup! Up north, in New England and Canada, they measure production in terms of 55 gallon barrels filled. Well, we filled two! As funny as that sounds, this is an amazing accomplishment for us, and we are grateful to have so much to sell. It is truly astounding that such a lovely, complex, and satisfying food comes from the water in our trees here at Waterfall Farm. It feels like magic every time we fire up the evaporator.
Although we are getting a burst of cold weather this weekend, now that our season is done we are ready to embrace sixty degree days, sunshine, birds chirping, and the flowers starting to pop out of the earth. We are ready to drink in spring and let it mend what feels withered, as we acknowledge the end of our season with weary frames, but full hearts.
Stay tuned next week for more details about our syrup release party, March 23, at Molley Chomper.