Warner Corner - March 2009

Run Sap, Run!
Bekah Dalen, Interpretive Naturalist

Everyone has something in particular they look for as a first sign of spring. For some, it is the sun finally rising before they leave for work, for others it is the return of a favorite migratory bird. For me, it is the annual run of the sap. No, this is nothing like the running of the bulls. It is that first wonderful, sunny day when sparkling sap begins to drip from the taps in Warner Nature Center's red maple trees.

I have to say I do enjoy winter. I love snowshoeing through the snow-covered forests, tracking animals across the frozen lakes, and warming my chilled body by an open fire. But even naturalists have their limits, and there are only so many below zero days we can take. That is why, as I am writing this article in the middle of February, I am dreaming of sap.

Every year, Warner Nature Center taps around 30 red maple trees. It is an elaborate process to say the least. Preparation begins when winter still has its hold on us. If we wait too long to gather supplies, recruit our volunteer crew or tap the best trees, Mother Nature easily catches us off guard. Once the sap begins to flow it is a race against time to collect and boil the sap before it spoils. And in those precious moments before the sap reaches the ideal sugar content and becomes syrup, all could be lost. Burning the sap is always only a daydream away. Maple syruping is a lot of work, but the end result is fabulously twofold. Not only do you have the most sweet, delicious syrup to put on your pancakes or ice cream, but winter is becoming nothing more than a distant memory.

The first day sap begins to run means many things to me. It means the days are starting to get warmer…highs in the mid 30's and 40's. It means feeling the warm sun on my face as I collect full bags of sap from the trees. It means trying not to slip in the mud as I haul the bags to the sugar shack. It means watching red-shouldered hawks circle and cry overhead as I slowly boil sap into syrup. And, at the end of the sap run, it means watching the red maple trees bud out, tiny leaves soaking up the sun as determined as I to welcome spring once again.

What is your first sign of spring? Whatever it is, may it happen soon!