Maine Maple Sunday, a yearly event in Vacationland.
Heading to the maple grove woodlots to tap trees, run lines for the golden syrup. Or the Maine home owner digs out the spouts, the snowshoes. Who taps the stately maple shade trees using buckets out front their house.
Lots of Mainers own woodlots to heat their homes and for recreation camp getaways.
Many Maine home owners have maple tree lined driveways. Dotting, shading along the street or road out front of their houses. Maine Maple Sunday is a big deal and it’s the 40th event this weekend. Always remember, it’s the last Sunday in March when sugar shacks and maple syrup producer distilleries open up their operations for old and young alike.
Inviting you in to witness up close and personal the 40 to 1 boiling down evaporating process. Before that the trip to the Maine woodlot to collect what runs in the lines or fills the galvanized buckets. You will also see the finished products made with pride of Maine produced pure maple syrup. Not some watered down from who knows where and all those artificial additives and colors.
Watch A Maine Maple Sunday Weekend Open House Sugarhouse Video Tour!
Many Maine land owners have forest timber stands of maple hardwood trees that are idea for tapping the sap to make syrup.
The old fashion bucket collection system is slow and labor intensive but still fun to celebrate the approaching spring. Colder nights, warmer days and being outside collecting sap is a family tradition. I grew up doing it with my Dad who loved the woods. Creating home grown tap sap for your own Maine maple syrup! Ever done it? Would you like to?
Many trips to the Ludlow Maine woodlot to collect annual renewable firewood and the maple tree sap for syrup.
It’s all about just enjoying a Sunday afternoon picnic in your private woodlot loaded with wildlife. Just wildlife, nature to witness, no two legged critters to spoil the experience.
Snow still on the ground, its is always the last one at the party to leave in wooded tracts of Maine land.
Hanging around in the Maine woodlots and when warmer day temperatures happen. Snow in Maine, always the last place to melt and disappear in woodlots. It’s why diehard snowmobiling continues longer on forest trails.
All those tall stately trees shading out the growing strong sun. That’s what extends winter snowscape a tad longer if you want a little more Maine snow sled trail riding time.
It’s more than the ritual of collecting maple tree sap to boil it down for the amber elixir that’s all natural.
Maple Sunday Weekend in Maine represents spring. One more sign that winter is waning, the long shadow of the low on the horizon sun is shifting its angle. Hope and faith that spring is ahead helps true Mainers dig out their garden and farm seed catalogs. It shows acceptance that winter is passing by and ready to fill the rear view mirror.
Buds on the trees, early bulb flowers poking up through the ground around your Maine house foundation.
Snow banks receding, peppered with road sand and salt remains. Dusty, dirty. battle weary. Some lawns look like a bomb hit and a war was fought. Deep gouges with missing sod, thanks to the snow plow operator who did not lift the blade an inch or two when the ground is soft. Lots of gravel and road sand needing raking to remove. Spring run off from months of Maine snow increasing the smelting speed. The width of brooks, streams and rivers that grow exponentially this time of year.
Some places in rural Maine there is flooding that crosses back roadways for a few hours or a couple days.
Excitement about new flowers, the fragrant and colorful floral displays that happen on their own in Maine. It’s all ahead and exciting. Every Maine season offers it’s own special version of outdoor beauty. They work together. Like fall explosive colors are a second bloom of what happened over summer. There is overlap and tag team tug of war in the Maine season transition. It’s not snap your fingers quick and easy.
Dig out your kayak and canoe to ride the waves around the state of Maine canoe race circuit.
Potholes blooming along streets and frost heaves forming in the old familiar places on Maine highways. Smelts running to fish net.
Maine maple Sunday, it happens for the 40th year on March 26th, 2023.
Sap collection, it’s a form of farming. Just like harvesting fish off the coast of Maine is too. Not just rows of planted seeds or seedlings. More than just fence posts planted or straighten and lines run around Maine pasture fields for critter containment. And to keep the wildlife on the other side where they belong.
Homesteading in Maine.
It’s picked up a resurgence since COVID turned on the bright harsh last call lights indicating you have to go. We don’t care where you go but you can’t stay here. It’s plenty sobering when home does not feel so home sweet home anymore.
Pack up to move to Maine.
Lots are doing it and I have read the state of Maine is number two for where folks pick for their new home base. Maine Maple Weekend Sunday is one more fun thing to do. To get out and observe when you are lucky enough to spend more than just a long weekend or seven day string of rest and relaxation in Vacationland.
In Maine grocery stores, you have lots of choices for maple syrup.
You find your log cabin or lady with the head scarf brands of maple syrup to drizzle. Most from Vermont, some from Canada, more and more from Maine. But searching for the Maine made all natural maple syrup, the little jug of close to home grown oozing sweetness is not always there.
Or the $15 dollar sticker price can cause pause, temporary pain and suffering in the grocery aisles.
Until you remember how good, how natural and nothing artificial Maine maple syrup is. And you have a local farmer tending the Maine maple tree sap collecting operation. Support your Maine producer because no farmer, no food.
See the list of all the open houses for Maine Maple Sunday weekend outlets and visit one or two near you that dot the link map.
Maple syrup is not just for lathering up pancakes and waffles with melting butter as a playmate. Lubricating stacks of jacks at breakfast time wakey wakey is not the only time to enjoy maple syrup.
Maple syrup is a sweetener for anything from candy to cake to pies, for dressings, a companion to scoops of ice cream.
Coffee for many just tastes better with a shot or two of Maine maple syrup. Discovered long before the turbo this, double shot of that mist topping of caramel swirl.
Try a little maple syrup for the home brewed cup of Joe.
Instead of shelling out daily for the expensive red, blue, whatever exotic dye color addiction drive through fix. The reach for the gotta have the designer hot or cold coffee mainline or you will die right here and now. It’s an expensive daily ritual of hot and ready for many. You see the long long lines outside the drive thru of all the Maine coffee hound baristas locations.
The life or death sustenance of artificial life, fill it to the brim to win la-di dah latte.
The burn your hand even with a double sleeve, lava hot center of the sun blistering temperature money grab. The first thing on your mind when the eyelids go north.
The addiction that kept you awake half the night.
And Chummy, if you don’t get your special blend of foo foo coffee concoction with a triple pump of extra coconut oat almond milk shot please. Well now, life as you know it wired on caffeine is just not going to be as brightly colored orhalf the fun. Just sayin’.
Sorry for the rant. Don’t get me wrong. I love my basic black fresh brewed cup of coffee without all the Hollywood after affects. Missing the boat on all those extra expensive, time in line consuming ingredients to jazz up the coffee break experience.
Maybe I am missing something.
Just want a quick pit stop and not a coffee snob. Keep it simple. Make it black. Pitch black. Darker than the inside of a color black. (Pouring in a jigger of pure and natural Maine maple syrup) It’s always a good time for a cup of coffee and fellowship, communion in the great state of Maine outdoor landscape. Early morning parked next to a Maine lake is my happy place. Have another cup? Well, yes please if you’re up and pouring. Hit me with a little maple syrup, gotta give it a try.
Back on blog post topic for Maple syrup, the sugar shack open house weekend for local Maine producers.
Every maple syrup producer in Maine can claim to be the best and they are all right.
These hard working Maine maple grove tree tapping sap collecting folks want to share an experience.
To show you how the process goes and all the many maple syrup by products out there to enjoy. Maple syrup, more than just a pancake or waffle meal pleasure experience.
Have you ever been to a Maine maple syrup open house Sunday? You know what all the ink spilling is all about then. If not, you should celebrate spring. Support your local Maine maple syrup producer.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North ST Houlton ME 04730 USA