I'm Not Complaining, I'm just saying:

[Justin Turco]

Here is some estimates of man hours vs. syrup production.

30 hours- Cutting splitting and stacking wood.
32 hours- Tubing repair, tapping and takedown, and evaporator cleanup.
80 hours- Boiling 2200+ gallons of sap.

142 hours (probably on the low side) / Produced 47.5 gallons of syrup.

That is right about 3 hours of work per gallon of syrup.
Then there is the cash that you pour into it. Jugs, filters, misc. repair parts, a new roll of insulation for under the pans. (Those are expensive.. anybody got a more cost effective way?) ETC. ETC.

Maybe I would complain about it, except...for years, I too used a barrel stove with a flat bottom pan. It took me 12 hours to make a gallon of syrup in those days. (But that too, was an improvement over the 2 cement blocks and old black pan my neighbor and I used as kids.)

This is a labor of love. And I do love it. Like you, I wish I was throwing wood in that evaporator right now!

Once again, I yeild my sugarhouse back to the barn swallows, deer mice and my kids bicycles.

[WF MASON]

Resistance training - $300. dollars,your cost $0
Cardio workout - $320. dollars, your cost $0
Psycho therapy - $4800. dollars,your cost $0
what a deal being able to get all this right at home.
vs

beer + cigarettes= early death

sugaring an't so bad??

[andrew martin]

It is a lot of time and money, but I would rather spend my time in the woods than in any other place, whether it is clearing trails and brush, tapping, gathering, and just a leisurely stroll to see how the sap is running. If you have children, you are giving them priceless memories and an understanding of the value of nature, conservation and patience. I am glad that sugaring is only 6-8 weeks long, because by the following October I know sugaring is just several months away and I begin getting excited. Too often we interpret "worth" only in $$$, yet sugaring is worth more than money - it is family time, it is time with neighbors, it is pride and satisfaction in a job well done, and it is worth the anticipation of the coming year.

Andrew

[OGDENS SUGAR BUSH]

Figure It As A Hobby Because It Is Very Hard To Make Money At It Like A Job. I Find It Very Enjoyable,all Aspects Of It From Wood Cutting To The Finished Product.

Rich

[HanginAround]

Anyone who spent their money on green fees at the golf course, or participating in any other hobby spent a lot more than that :)

[Fred Henderson]

Take up the boat racing hobby and see what that will cost you. In most hobbies all you get is a trophy. Try eating them or selling them.

[802maple]

Or how about the stockcar racing that is so dear to my heart, I hate this time of year for the financial end of that hobby, you just keep pouring money into a bottomless pit hoping to get a few drops back out to afford tires and gas for the next race. But I am doing it again this year and most likely will be doing it again next year.

It doesn't make any difference how big or small you are in the maple industry the numbers come out about the same,

[hard maple]

It's payment for the soul, not the pocket!!!
Mason...we all gotta die some how?!

[Russell Lampron]

Sugaring is hard work but it is healthy work. It gives me something to do at that time of year when it is too late for winter activities and too early for spring time activities. The finished product is really sweet too. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it when people say "wow you made this!". Some how it makes all of the money spent and man hours put into it worth while.

Russ

[Fred Henderson]

Russ I couldn't agree with you more. I had a person tell me last year that she has bought syrup everywhere but mine taste the best. Then this year I did not make any lite syrup and people buy maybe a half gal only to come back 2 days later and buy 2 or3 gallons. Peace of mine is what sugaring is to me. As an ex farmer I will tell you this that sugaring is the first crop of the year.

[royalmaple]

I never made a dime deer hunting, zilch ice fishing. Spent 200-300 on bait and fuel each DAY when I use to fish off shore for Giant Blue fin Tuna.

This is an expensive enterprise for sure, but I keep telling myself, once I get the big stuff I need then it is not going to be quite so bad. I'm not going to build a sugarhouse each year, and once you set up a woods correctly, shouldn't be doing much besides some maintenance.

But it is very nice to make something that people really enjoy and appreciate. I couldn't get my wife to go deer hunting with me or take a crowd of people with me either, but they can all come over and enjoy the smell and watch the mezmorizing steam float up into the sky.

But I know where you are coming from. And it does not help that many of the essentials are available from a limited market.

[dgp219]

My daughter gets home from school and her first words are "Dad, lets go empty buckets!" and there"s always a friend of hers that wants to come. That makes my day. And there is something about walking home late at night after a long boil with the stars right there, shining through the big sugars in our yard. I'm tired and can't wait to do it again. Worth it all, especially since I'm cheap!

[MaplePancakeMan]

Well i honestly thought i might make something out of this but i realize its really not about that. I was 21 and quick cash is nice cash until i realized i just really wanted all the toys to play with.

I do this because i love it, and its good to preserve traditions in a world where everything is becoming processed. My grandfather gave me taps that his great grandfather had passed down(my grandpa never got to sugar due time constraints and old age). He's happy that i got into it though, it brings him back to when he was younger in his teens. He doesn't get around well but still makes it out to see me boil we shoot the breeze and just have fun. I tap a tree in his yard even though its half an hour away just to make him happy. I know that i'll never make any profit realisticly but i look at it this way, if i buy all the things before the season starts i've kissed that money good by its a sunk cost. Anything i make selling it is new money. I use it for spring break trips etc or flying out to see a nba playoff game like i did last year.

I taught a lesson online to a class in Mississippi about maple sugaring, i even cut a slab of maple drilled holes and sent taps and tubing with a big jug of syrup to show them how its done, i got a letter from all the kids with comments... reading that in the middle of what was a piss poor season really made me feel great. I'm doing it next year for my nephews school as a class project we're gonna tap a tree and boil it on a burner in class. Then they will take a trip to my house to see a big (small to most of you) evaporator.

and after my rant i'm done sorry bout that.

[Justin Turco]

Ditto on everything you all have said. We're a lucky few who get to do this! Our kids will tell and retell their grandkids about it. Truely,... I wasn't complaining. I failed to say it, but it is true, it is fun work. I enjoy hearing what everyone has to say about their operation and what it means to them. I find myself saying "amen to that" with every response I read.


P.S. Nice sugarhouse, Royal Maple! Where are the pictures of it working this spring?

[John Burton]

47.5 was not that bad of a year considering the year.You forgot to add the time you spend traveling around just looking for new taps,other sugarhouses,and time spent here just shooting the breeze.what we do is boil in our yearly retal syrup,then we boil most everything else in bulk and use that to pay for next years supplies i am going to try the woven gasket next year,its more expensive but i guess you can pull your pans with out loosing it.

[royalmaple]

I got to upload some new pictures. And I got more videos to upload as well.

www.youtube.com/royalmaple

[maple flats]

They look like future maplers for sure. We need to get the next generation thinking real maple.

[Sugarmaker]

I tap 125 taps on a farm about 6 miles from here the boy (13) on the farm comes out and has watched me tap for the last 6 years, he has helped me gather the ones in the front of his house too, this year he and a friend ask if they could help tap (buckets). I said sure and began to teach them some of the tricks and procedures of tapping sugar maples. When we completed the 25 in his yard, they asked if they could help tap the other 100 about a mile away. While we were getting started another of there friends showed up and all three boys took turns running the cordless drill, setting taps, hanging buckets, and placing lids. when the drill ran out of steam each took turns running the Tanaka tapper. I could barley keep up with them, and it reminded me of when I was that age. I know there are three more kids out there that can tap a maple and that's the first step.
Two of the boys talked the farmer into bringing them to the sugarhouse to see the boiling. I may lose those trees in a year or so but cant think of a better cleaner hobby to introduce kids to.
They helped me gather several times and loved pulling the truck up to the next group of trees.

My grand kids have so much knowledge about making maple they dont even realize it yet. Just from hanging around in the sugarhouse and watching and helping. Not sure if they will get the bug?



Sugarmaker