Finding Ulysses

In many ways, this is really my first spring in Trumansburg. My wife and I moved here last February, and our daughter was born upstairs in our new house not too much later, a year ago this week. Most of my spring 2005 was spent taking care of my new baby, moving in, or working in order to afford it all. This year, I’ve got just a little bit more time for reflection.

So it is that this year, I’m seeing little maple operations all over the village, when I didn’t notice them at all last year. Over on the other side of Cayuga Street, down toward Millspaugh’s, one of my neighbors has two buckets hanging from a couple old trees out by the street. The last time I looked, they were both overflowing. On the other side of the street, another neighbor just has a plastic tap and a tube leading to a liter bottle resting down on the ground.

I was given a maple bucket and tap as a gift this week, and I put it out on one of my sugar maples about two days ago. So far, I’ve got about a cup and half of sap. Maybe it’s the weather, not so warm during the daytime, and maybe it’s something else. Maybe this is the amount of sap I should expect. I really don’t know.

So, I’m looking to older and wiser people to give me a bit of guidance. Is there a particular method to tapping for sap that you recommend? Is there particular apparatus that works best for you? Is there a certain size of maple, in a certain sort of location, that works best? What about timing? When is the height of the maple syrup season around here?