Maple Sugaring ~ Not for sissies, but, oh, so sweet

Spring approaches in the Adirondacks, but no one is slathering on the sun block or slipping into shorts just yet. Maple producers around Thurman recently have shared stories of wallowing on snow shoes through fluffy drifts in cut-to-the bone winds in order to set taps for this year's sugaring season. Those who use plastic tubing to deliver sap to the collection vats have been out running new lines, repairing old ones, and making sure all is ready for the running of the sap. The weather toys with them, flitting playfully above freezing for a couple of days, then dropping twenty degrees and dumping more snow -- sometimes the kind of snow that can snap tree limbs, limbs that then fall on newly strung sap lines. Once the sap begins to flow in earnest, the boiling will begin. In a good season the task on a given day can go on for hours on end. Tales are told of sugarmakers who literally fall asleep on their feet beside their evaporators, steam crusting hair and eyebrows with crystals of sugar.

Sugaring is tough work, but those I know who engage in it, love it. "I think most sugarmakers are a little bit insane," observed Dave DeLozier, publisher of Ecolocal Living magazine, when I recently submitted an article I'd written about Toad Hill Maple Farm's new sugarhouse. Most sugarmakers I know would agree, readily admitting that the amount of work they do, the need for blind trust in weather known to be fickle, and the expense of equipment and supplies all set them up for failure. A compulsion drives them out into the sugarbush each February and March anyhow.

This year, as in years past, Thurman's maple producers, along with a local sawmill, will roll out the carpet for visitors each of the last three weekends in March. It begins with Thurman Maple Weekend, March 12 and 13, when Valley Road Maple opens at 9 a.m. for pancakes, and the other three sites open at 10 to offer tours and demonstrations. That first Saturday is crowned by the annual Maple Sugar Party, a buffet supper to raise money to fight cancer. Hod Ovitt and the Warren County Ramblers will be on tap to make the occasion festive, and a dessert of pure Thurman maple jack wax will leave no sweet tooth unsatisfied.

The breakfasts, tours and demonstrations will continue on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of March, as Thurman producers participate in New York State Maple Weekends. For details on the event, how to find Thurman and navigate to all sites, please visit the Thurman Maple Weekends web page. You'll enjoy attending this event. If you are from out of the area, check out our local B&Bs on Thurman's web site, www.Thurman-NY.com, and spend a leisurely weekend in the Adirondacks.

Publicity for Thurman's maple events is made possible, in part, by use of Warren County Occupancy Tax funds, granted by the Town of Thurman.

Maple Madness Continues in Thurman

Small towns seem to grow legendary characters the way the north side of a tree grows moss, and Thurman has a new one in the making. It all started a few years ago with a shy sugar maker named Marc, who didn’t think he’d be able to make himself talk to a group of visitors on tour. His wife, Cheryl, told all the children in the group that there was an ancient Adirondack hermit named “Tapper” boiling sap up at the old sugarhouse, and they should go ask him to show them how to make syrup. Charmed by the children's wide-eyed interest, Kenyon forgot to be nervous and stepped into the role Cheryl had created. A character was born.

Now the kids come looking for him. At last weekend’s Maple Days, one spied him. “THERE’S TAPPER!” resonated through the sugarbush, and kids flocked around him for their annual lesson in sugaring. Some gave him a goodbye hug before leaving Adirondack Gold Maple Farm.

Down at Kenyon’s new sugarhouse, used primarily for displaying merchandise and sugar making equipment, guests from near and far—some as far as Texas and Arizona—enjoyed sampling and shopping for maple products—maple syrup, maple sugar, maple cream and maple cotton candy, to name a few. And Sally Feihel of Adirondack Suds and Scents showed of f her homemade soaps, lotions and soy votives, talking to visitors about how the products are made and playing a video of the soap making process. Tour-goers soaked up the friendship, good fun and hospitality that permeated the place, sometimes pausing to sit with a cup of Cheryl’s special maple chili, trying to wheedle from her the secret recipe. Adirondack Gold was just one of four stops on the trek around town. Many enjoyed fluffy pancakes with syrup at Valley Road Maple Farm and watched a sawing demonstration at Martin’s Lumber, where big slabs of maple, stained glass stepping stones and other crafts were on display. A stop at Toad Hill Maple Farm, said to be the largest in Warren County, rounded out the tour, as the Galusha family opened their sugarhouse to friends old and new, with high technology assisting them in an age-old art largely dependent upon weather conditions beyond the control of man.

Maple madness continues in Thurman each weekend through March 28th. To see a map and more information, visit www.Thurman-NY.com. Email Info@Thurman-NY.com or phone 518-623-9718.

Tapper will be waiting for you.

Maple Fun on Tap in Thurman

Those of you who know me even a little bit are aware that I am an ardent cheerleader for the little Adirondack town where we live in spring, summer and fall. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I am able to stay connected and involved with community projects there all year long. Right now Thurman is gearing up for the annual maple events, when the town and visitors turn out to celebrate all things maple.

Thurman has quite a number of maple producers - those stalwart folks who admit to being addicted to sugaring. Many tap sugarbushes that were run by their fathers and grandfathers before them. Most primarily use plastic tubing, some with vacuum assist, to deliver the sap to the sugarhouse, and then a variety of equipment is employed to remove the extra sixty percent of water to make it syrup. There are wood- and oil-fired evaporators, SteamAways, and even reverse osmosis machines. There are bottling machines and candy making machines and equipment that makes delicious maple cream.

If you haven't had the chance to see these operations up close, March is the time. I understand the sap has started running, and a great season is anticipated. On March 14th several maple producers will welcome the public for Maple Weekends, and they will open their sugarhouses Saturdays and Sundays throughout the rest of March, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you just can't wait that long, head over to Valley Road Maple Farm, where Mike and Ralph start their breakfast at 9 a.m. They'll flip you some fluffy, hot pancakes with award-winning light amber syrup to drizzle over them. You'll see demonstrations and tours, and you can browse and buy maple goodies. There's no admission, and on certain days there will be special activities. On this first weekend, catch a live radio broadcast by Froggy 107.1. Each weekend Martin's Lumber will offer sawmill demonstrations, talk about sustainable forestry and show off their finest maple slabs and interesting stained glass stepping stones and paper bead earrings.

Saturday evening, March 14th, is the annual Maple Sugar Party, with live music, a buffet of home cooked food, and traditional jack wax (sugar on snow) for dessert. Hot maple syrup that has been cooked down is ladled over cold snow, forming a chewy confection not to be trifled with! Tickets for the dinner are $10 for adults, $5 for kids 6-11, and free for kids under six. Your support benefits the American Cancer Society, and charity never tasted so good.

I hope those of you within driving distance will pile into the car, pick up a neighbor and head for Thurman. It's a great way to celebrate spring. Details (and maps) can be found by clicking on links at www.Thurman-NY.com or phoning 518-623-9718. Or email me, PersisGranger@aol.com.