What is it Wednesday: March 18, 2020

Can you identify what's in this photo?

Each Wednesday morning 

on Camp Lutherlyn's Facebook page

 the Lutherlyn Environmental Education Program posts a photo. 

Readers have all morning and afternoon 

to make their best guess about what the photo is. 

Around 6 pm LEEP provides the answer and a brief explanation.

Each week's What is it Wednesday post 

will also be posted on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

 after it is posted on Facebook,

sometimes with additional bonus information. 

In addition to bringing you current editions of What is it Wednesday 

on the Nature of Lutherlyn blog, 

we will be reposting old editions,

creating a What is it Wednesday archive. 

This photo was posted as a What is it Wednesday on

March 18, 2020.

And the answer is....

This is the opening blossom of a red maple tree. 

Red maples are one of the first trees to blossom in the early spring in our area. (Silver maples are often a few weeks earlier, sugar maples a little later.)

The opening of maples blossoms also signals the end of maple sugaring season. 

Once the blossoms begin to open, the trees release additional chemicals into the sap which makes the flavor of syrup made from that sap bitter. (It is sometimes referred to as “buddy” syrup.) So to avoid this bitter syrup, maple producers pull their taps when they see that the buds have opened on their maple trees. Exactly when this happens varies from year to year and location to location. Here at Lutherlyn, we tap red maple trees, so when the red maples blossom, our season season is over. 

Of course, other things can end maple season too – running out of firewood; running out of time for hauling, boiling, filtering, and cleaning up; sap stops flowing because it stayed warm; etc. 

On Monday we noticed the buds opening on some of the maple trees in our sugarbush (the area of forest where the trees are tapped) – so maple season 2020 is over at Lutherlyn! We are now into maple cleanup – finishing boiling the last of the sap into syrup, pulling the taps and buckets from the trees, sanitizing all the buckets, lids, spiles, hoses, and other equipment, cleaning the evaporator, and storing it all away for next year.

Holly with sap buckets, lids, and containers, sanitized and drying in the dining hall kitchen

Maybe next time you are at Lutherlyn you will get to taste some of our syrup – check out www.Lutherlyn.com for info about summer camp, retreats, overnight field trips, and other events that could include a pancake breakfast!

Like and follow Camp Lutherlyn on Facebook, to see What is it Wednesday posts when they come out and have the opportunity to share your guesses in the comments!