Spring Bursts onto the Scene

  Today is the first day of spring, but spring sure seemed to arrive weeks ago.  We have already seen bats, phoebes, coltsfoot flowers, carpenter bees, redwing blackbirds, and blackflies.  However, the most important sign of spring to us at Lutherlyn is the opening of the buds on the red maple trees.  Why are they so important you ask?  They mark the end of maple sugaring season.
  The sucrose that rises in the maple trees in the early spring continues its movement as long as the days are above freezing and the nights below freezing.  However, once the buds open on the maple trees, the sugar changes to starch and any resulting syrup does not taste sweet.  So, we watch the tree tops very carefully this time of year to know when to take down our buckets.

  With this years crazy warm weather, we were praying that the buds would stay closed until after our last school field trip.  Well, they did, but only by a few hours.  Our last school group was on March 16 and the very next morning many of the maple tree buds were noticeably open.
  As you may have guessed, this is not normal for us.  We don't usually schedule schools after March 15, so that we have a full week of available days to reschedule field trips.  Most years we will have a few schools that we reschedule because of winter weather.  In the past, the red maples don't usually open until after March 22.
  All of this has reminded me of learning about maple sugaring at Lutheran Memorial Camp in Fulton, OH.  That camp has been making maple syrup for 50 years or more.  The original sugar shack at Lutheran Memorial had one wall plank where the sugar makers listed the beginning and end dates of each maple sugaring season.  Some years were earlier than others, but (as I recall) the general trend was moving earlier into the spring.  I distinctly remember some dates being in April.  I can't imagine seeing our sugaring seasons wait that long.
  Whereas this year's warm temperatures and early spring arrival does not, in itself, prove that climate change is occurring.  Longterm data - like the trend in maple sugaring seasons in Ohio - do point to the simple fact that our climate is changing.  The southern edge of maple sugaring currently extends down into the mountains of Virginia.  We have heard from a relieable Virginia forester that many sugaring operations didn't even tap trees this year because it was too warm.  Will Virginia maple syrup be a victim of our changing climate?  Is it possible for our climate to change enough that maple sugaring in Pennsylvania may be in jeopardy one day?  We hope and pray that this will not be the case, but we are not willing to stop there.  We will continue to work to educate all about our environment and human impacts on it.  We will work as if praying does no good and pray as if working does no good - to quote St. Augustine.

That Sweet Sign of Spring

     It is a beautiful March day; the sun is shining, the snow is melting, and students are at Lutherlyn because the sap is running!  Maple sugaring season has to be one of my all time favorite things about living in this part of the United States.  Before the tiny tree leaves burst out of their buds or forest wildflowers blanket our woods, the maple sap flows.

    It is a miraculous thing.  Maple trees were uniquely created  at the cellular level and their uniqueness enables us to enjoy sweetness that is beyond compare.  Longer day length and warmer temperatures combine with cellular respiration and starch to sugar conversion to pump sugary sap up the xylem tissue of our native maple trees.  All we have to do is drill a hole into the tree, hang a bucket, and start collecting the wonderful sugar-water.  With some boiling, that sugar-water becomes super sweet syrup!

    Maple sugaring season comes at just the right time for getting outside.  When everyone has been couped up inside for months, maple sugaring provides a great excuse to get outside and walk around the forest.

    I love the fact that I get to help students identify trees -without their leaves.  When looking at a deciduous forest in winter, most people only see tree trunks that look almost identical.  However, when you really stop to take a look, not only does each tree have slightly different bark, but their branches and buds are extremely unique.  Most students are pretty good at noticing the difference - usually better than the adults with them.

    Once a maple tree has been identified, then we get to use tools!  (You just can't beat this season - you get to be outside, in the forest, and you get to use hand tools!)  Using a brace to drill into a tree and a mallet to tap in the spile are certainly a very fun part of maple sugaring season.  From my experience tapping maple trees with students, their favorite part of the day is either tapping the tree or taking the sap to the sugar shack.

     Oh the sugar shack!  There is nothing like the aroma of a working sugar shack.  The air is filled with sweetness as the watery sap is boiled down to make syrup.  The steamy moisture fills your lungs and makes you daydream about pancakes, waffles, and french toast.

    Certainly the best treat of all on a sunny March day is a taste of maple syrup.  Well, actually, it's a great treat on any day.  There is something so incredibly special about tasting maple syrup.  For one thing - it comes from a tree and its not a fruit!  How amazing is that!  All we do is boil it down, nothing is added and only water (and a few minerals) are removed.  It doesn't contain high fructose corn syrup, added colors, preservatives, GMOs, or trans-fats.  It's all natural and locally made.

    Historians tell us that the Native Americans, who populated the eastern woodlands 300 years ago, saw the "maple moon" as a time for celebration.  It often involved ceremonies and dances.  I can certainly relate to that kind of jubilation.  The renewal of life and the promise of spring make me want to dance, too - or maybe I've just had a little too much syrup.