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AMISH COUNTRY, HEALTHY LIVING, HOMESTEADING

Sap's Running in Amish Country!

Sap's Running in Amish Country!

Hello, friends. Dave here. We’re busy collecting and boiling maple sap these days. Have eighteen gallons of syrup finished, and a pretty good “run” today. Looks like the next few days may be decent. Went for a short drive today to see if my Amish neighbors are collecting sap too, and they are. We’ll post some pictures here with some explanations.

Dave's neighbor Dan's tappe sugarbush. What you see is about one-third of it. That's a lot of sap!
A local Amish family taps their large sugarbush each year, producing pure, delectable maple syrup. From pure sap to pure syrup. Nothing added. What you see is about one-third of it. That’s a lot of sap!
Dan and the boys heading through the woods with their faithful canine.
This past Saturday, “Eli” and his boys were still finishing the tapping in their sugarbush. Their faithful canine is always with them, keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.
"Eli" and the boys heading out of the woods Saturday evening on their horse-drawn wagon. They will not gather sap on Sunday, but wait until Monday. They will not work on Sunday, except for normal everyday chores like feeding the livestock and milking the cows.
“Eli” and the boys heading out of the woods Saturday evening on their horse-drawn wagon. They will not gather sap on Sunday, but wait until Monday. They will not work on Sunday, except for normal everyday chores like feeding the livestock and milking the cows.

 

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Some Amish use these plastic bags for tapping trees. They are very inexpensive, but don’t last long – one season at most.
A shot of Dave's boiling pan with a batch of syrup that is nearly finished. Yum!
A shot of Dave’s own boiling pan with a batch of syrup that is nearly finished. Yum!
This Amish fellow is taking his load of sap to an Amish sugarshack to be cooked into syrup.
Monday evening. One of the Amish neighbors is taking a full tank-load of maple sap from his home farm to be boiled down in “Eli’s” sugarhouse.
Smoke rises from an Amish sugarshack near our store in Kidron, Ohio.
Smoke and steam rises from the sugarhouse on “Eli’s” farm. Inside, there is a large overhead bulk tank that the sap is pumped into. At ground level, a large wood-and-coal fired evaporator boils off the water, producing a lovely cloud of steam. Gravity feeds the sap into the evaporator as needed through a hose with a valve to control the flow.

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Dave Ross

Dave Ross

Dave enjoys walking the country roads near Kidron, Ohio. Reveling in the bucolic scenery, and observing the timeless farming methods of the Amish, brings inspiration for writing thoughts, memories, and stories. Four people call him Dad, eight people call him Grandpa, and one wife calls him when it’s time for supper

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