What did you like to do before you started making Maple Syrup???

[red maples]

Well its crunch time now and its just so darn cold. Working outside on finishing up projects before the season starts your mind wonders and you just wanna be inside nice and cozy and warm and can't wait to get this stuff done. I got thinking about a good thread.

"What did you do before you started making maple syrup?"

Lets face it we know Maple sugaring is VERY addictive and there is really no end to the madness.

I still do these things but really not nearly as much as I used to.

hunting
fishing
Ice fishing
just relaxing inside on cold days
Ice skating
I used to build an ice rink every year haven't done that in 2 years.
And during the season my wife complains she doesn't see me for 2 months!!! (hopefully with my NEW RO Picking it up tomorrow that will change)

Anyhow I love Making syrup and spending time in the Sugarhouse, but it has definitely changed how I spend my time!!!

[aunt stellas gardens]

I loved to garden, landscape and refinish furniture. I've already started some seeds but no landscaping or furniture projects are on the schedule. I'm looking forward to February and March when the start of Maple begins!

[68bird]

Brad, I used to do most of the same things as you. The two things that I have basicly given up are ice fishing, and snowmobiling. I actully have a snowgoose hunt booked with my two sons for March 22nd of this year. The sap will ahve to wait! It's only about 4 hours away, in Plattsburgh NY. Can't wait!!!

[sjdoyon]

This was our third year in a row missing deer season. With expansion project's the next 2-4 years, doubt we'll get to deer camp anytime soon.

[cpmaple]

enjoying my boat and waiting for a salmon to take a lure that is my most favorite pass time unless it sugaring season then everything else is put on hold for sure.

[Tweegs]

My wife and I are pretty much joined at the hip.

We have a sailboat and enjoy day, weekend and extended weekend trips sailing the Great Lakes.

One weekend a month we try to make it out on the rivers and streams in northern MI for some fly fishing.

Come fall we trade in fly fishing for grouse hunting. She won’t carry a shotgun, but likes the hike. Since I don’t have a bird dog, she fills in, at least until she realizes she’s playing the part. :)

I pretend to deer hunt here on the property, but I can’t sit still.

If not engaged in any of the above, I have a woodworking shop out in the barn.

I made a career in electronics and find myself fiddling with gadgets and constructing odds and ends for the shack. It’s more out of necessity than fulfilling some burning desire to tinker. I get enough of that at work.

It takes a storm to keep me indoors, always something to be done out there.

[boondocker]

Well......im 3rd generation in the maple story but before I picked it back up in 2007 really enjoyed back country snowmobiling with my brother and a couple good buddies. Hunting moose sheds in the back country of maine with nothing but a gps and spot locator (so the wife knows where we are just Incase). Hitting the birds in early fall before I start on the pipe lines and wasting black couds on the sea ducks just to get some time with my lab. Getting ready now to start the process of breaking in my 4th generation sugar maker so im sure some more stuff will go to the wayside but I wouldent want to change a thing!
.
..


.

[Don(MI)]

You know.....i found out recently i am a 5th generation syrup maker. Didnt know it went that far back. In my spare time I still enjoy hunting and camping when i can get a break from my daytime engineering job.

Time is everything....and seems like somedays there is not enough in it. God is calling me to do more for Him....and push away the things of this world to better outreach those who dont know Christ. That is what is on my mind lately.

[spud]

You know.....i found out recently i am a 5th generation syrup maker. Didnt know it went that far back. In my spare time I still enjoy hunting and camping when i can get a break from my daytime engineering job.

Time is everything....and seems like somedays there is not enough in it. God is calling me to do more for Him....and push away the things of this world to better outreach those who dont know Christ. That is what is on my mind lately.

May God Bless you and your family Don.

Spud

[asknupp]

Being new to sugar in I found that occupying my time was difficult. In Ohio the only thing I anticipated was waiting for mushrooms to start popping. Now I'm waiting for a sap run. Just something to get me out of the house.

[Rhino]

Pretty much the same as the other outdoor lovers out there are missing. I do try to get out ice fishing as much as i can before the season and also try to sneak in a few times if there is an extended freeze up during syrup season. Sold the snowmobiles this past fall, but that also has to do with our 1 year old grandson who we love to spend time with. My fall hunting is one thing i won't let pre season syrup work keep me from doing alot of. My wife would love to travel to warmer climates for a week or 2 in Januay/February but i can't do that yet until we are scaled back with taps. Maybe 10 years or so. I always say thats when we will put the fun back into it.

[jcb]

omg I cant rememder

[maple flats]

I did hours on end hunting, but only for deer. After that I did lots of shooting at the range and when I wasn't shooting, I was reloading getting ready for more shooting. Then in Jan 2003 I thought I'd put out a few buckets. I bought a 2x3 half pint and it was game on!. My hunting success slipped. Before maple I always go at least 1 and often 2 or even 3 in a year. We love Venison. Between '05 and 09 I got no deer, my hunting was like 45 minutes sitting watch and I was off the work maple. I might only put in maybe 3-4 hrs hunting for the whole season. Then in 09 I started putting in more time hunting and I again started having venison in the freezer. For shooting I used to be in 2 winter leagues and 3 summer leagues. I now only do 1 summer league, trap.