4 Sweet Life Lessons From a Maple Sugar Maker

We are maple sugar makers. We combine Mother Nature’s magic and modern machinery to transform the raw sap that comes from maple trees into that thick, sweet amber syrup you pour on your pancakes (or are you team waffle?). We work in our forest year-round to make maple syrup for a very short six-week season in February and March.

We slog through the snow on snowshoes with tools and equipment we pull in sleds along with our lunch, our family, two dogs, and an abundance of hope that the conditions will lead to a bountiful year with lots of ‘big days’. Often when I’m surrounded by trees and silence, with no cellular distractions (no service out here folks…), I reflect back on what I’ve learned and would tell my childhood self in preparation for maple sugaring and life.

Lesson #1: Gather as much traditional knowledge as you can from the elders around you who have experienced life for decades.

Listen to the stories and folklore and ‘old wives’ tales. Soak in all that they have to offer. Every story has value and likely a lesson. We know that sugaring season is done when the moths come out. Why is it a real natural signal? The warm weather that signals the trees to stop flowing sap abundantly also signals the moths to emerge. This local bit of folklore is deeply ingrained in the sugaring industry. So, head on down to your local coffee shop (the diner NOT the Starbies) and slide on up to the guy wearing the uniform pants and worn flannel shirt. Make small talk. Absorb it. Listen to his stories and gather some wisdom.

Lesson #2: In the words of the venerable Hal Borland, “Knowing the trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing the grass, I can appreciate persistence.” In this industry, patience and persistence are key.

We spend a year gearing up for a short production season (less than two months to produce all of our maple syrup, nearly 600+ gallons per year).
We are excited all year and can’t wait to start! But we have a long list of repairs and seasonal work in the woods to maintain our sugaring system that requires diligence and persistence.

You see, we have over 1500 ‘taps’, which are the plastic spiles we insert into the trees (anywhere from one to three per tree depending on the trunk diameter) that must be individually drilled, hammered in, and connected to the pipelines that collect the liquid. All these taps must be drilled immediately before production, otherwise the tree heals over and will seal the holes. They must be fresh. Every single tap is touched by us with patience and care for the tree.

We ensure that each one is drilled to the exact diameter, at a slight downward angle, and not vertically in line with previous years’ tap holes. Each tree is examined for health to determine how many taps will be drilled every single year.

The patience and persistence to accomplish this task is simply accomplished one hole at a time. Younger me was not a patient person. Instant rewards were my fuel. In this process, I slow down, despite the sense of urgency to capitalize on the seasonal restraints.

Lesson #3: Learn when to ask for help.

Humble yourself. Recognize your limitations and weaknesses as well as your abilities and strengths. Younger me was a strong, confident, independent person who always refused help. I identified it as a sign of weakness. I had an ‘I can do it and don’t need you’ attitude.

Although that served me well, as I’ve aged, I have realized that the people are offering their time and energy excited to be a part of what you are doing. It is not an imposition on them. Sugaring is a whole community tradition here in Vermont and leads to an open-door policy this time of year.

Typically, there is a yard full of kids, dogs, trucks, four wheelers, and people enjoying it in all capacities. Some with a beer in their hand with a smile on their face telling tales and some with tools helping us with a breakdown that needs immediate repairs.

Everyone is gathered around the crockpot full of chili and jar of pickled eggs fueling up for a long night of boiling syrup, which of course comes with all the free samples they can handle. Accept that helping hand and find joy in the camaraderie.

Lesson #4: In the wise words of my good friend Donna, ’control is an illusion’. In the words of my dad, ‘Mother Nature makes a terrible business partner’.

Sugaring is an industry in which we are completely at the whim of Mother Nature. Droughts and wet summers affect sap flow. Annual fluctuations in climate cycles affect the timing of when we can tap our trees or when the sap stops flowing. These are all critical factors that affect the quality, taste, color, and amount of maple syrup we are able to produce which ultimately has an effect on our bottom line.

Fortunately (unfortunately?) - I am a very standard Type A personality. I have lived in a world where I thought I could execute control over every aspect of my personal and professional life. However, that mentality has not served me well emotionally.

It takes a toll when you are desperately clawing along for a particular outcome and then feeling completely deflated when that expectation didn’t pan out.

I’m learning to go with the flow if you don’t mind the terrible pun. I’m enjoying the unexpected outcomes and throwing hope into the wind to see how it all shakes out.

To quote Brian Tracy “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.” Change your attitude. Enjoy the ride.

We are sugar makers. We are participants in hundreds of years of tradition that started many generations ago by the indigenous people in these northern climates. We commemorate that tradition and our land that has been used for hundreds, likely thousands of years to teach our family and community about this lifestyle.

The daily lessons, small and immeasurable, all add up to make us who we are and will be. I implore you to do the same. Slow down and soak it all in like syrup in the nooks and crannies in a hot, buttered waffle.