Once the sap is collected, it has to be cooked down into the good stuff: maple syrup! Mrs. Ladopolous's class collected several bucketfuls of sap, and now they have some syrup for a pancake party!
Just on the heels of the Crestwood fox hunt, warmer weather rolled in and suddenly it was time to tap the maple trees. How do you know it's tapping time? The daytime temperatures must be above freezing - ideally in the 40s - with freezing temperatures at night. The freeze/thaw pattern gets that sap flowing! Once it warms up to above freezing permanently, the sap flows up to the budding leaves and tapping time is over. It seems that the window of time for tapping maple trees is creeping earlier and earlier every year. Ordinarily, maple tapping starts in March in southern Wisconsin. But with the reality of global climate change and a strong El Niño this winter, it's really no surprise that second grade classes had to be ready for tapping already in February. How do you tap a maple tree anyway? Well, first you have to be sure you've found the right kind of tree. Sugar maples are the best for collecting sap, and they can be identified by their darkly streaked bark. They also often have small holes pecked in them by a particular kind of woodpecker called a yellow-bellied sap sucker. Next, you have to make sure your tree is big enough to handle having a hole drilled in it. The trunk's diameter must be at least 12-20". Now, where do you drill that hole? It can't be just anywhere! The hole should be on the part of the tree facing southwest so it gets afternoon sun, and should be about 6" away from any holes drilled in previous years. Drilling with a hand cranked drill is a LOT of work. Several adults plus a whole second grade class made it about an inch deep before the grownups finished up with a battery powered drill! Before you hammer the spile into the tree, of course, you have to taste the sap. How many people can say they've had a drink straight from the tree? As you drill into the tree trunk, the sap and sawdust create a mash that drip down the tree. I think it looks a little like applesauce... Each second grade class at Crestwood has a sugar maple tree to tap near school property. We are grateful to the gardeners at the Brittingham Estate and residents of the Highlands neighborhood for allowing us to access trees on their property. Once the sap is collected, it has to be cooked down into the good stuff: maple syrup! Mrs. Ladopolous's class collected several bucketfuls of sap, and now they have some syrup for a pancake party! As always, we are grateful for all the volunteers that help make outdoor activities go as smoothly as possible. Icy trails, squirrelly 8-year-olds, and power tools can make for challenging conditions. Somehow, they get some nice pictures while they're at it so we can share them with the rest of you! Thanks again to Peter Plane, Barb Handa, Margie Pearce, Eldon Ulrich and the parent volunteers who helped with maple tapping in the last few weeks.
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August 2017
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