Day Fifteen - Making Maple Syrup

Dear all,

A very industrial day here at the inn which in turn encouraged a much more serious and educational task: Today I made Maple Syrup.

Right back in the early days on Day Two, I got involved in collecting the sap. Due to the cold nights and tropical days, the sap is literally pouring out from the trees which led to a sap collecting frenzy.

The sap is then taken to Maple Syrup HQ: A wood burning furnace that we have on the go all day and most of the night. We fuel the fire with wood collected from the bush (see above-I was feeling strong). The sap is then boiled down in two consecutive containers over the fire.

Once the syrup is boiled down to a sufficient level in the finishing pan, we bring the liquid into the kitchen where it is boiled down on the stove for one last time and then filtered through a special fabric sieve. We test the density of the syrup using a hydrometer device.

Once the syrup has passed all quality checks, it is bottled and stashed away for a rainy day. All in all a truly Canadian challenge.

And in other news:

1. The snow has finally left Collingwood. Apparently in saying this means we are going to get arctic conditions and three feet of snow next week...

2. Mac finds the last remaining snow pile and manages to get ice stuck in his cage. Fortunately I was on hand to prevent suffocation ( Mac's daily brush with death.. Yesterday, he was caught playing on the pond... The day before, he was charging the electric fence to get at the chickens... sigh )