Celebrate Mud Season

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Thanks to Cal Robinson of Edinboro for  sharing the photo.

 

Celebrate the end of a brutal winter and attend the Open House Taste and Tour Maple Syrup weekend in the northwestern Pennsylvania area, March 14 and 15. This year will be the 12^th annual event sponsored by the Northwestern Pennsylvania Maple Syrup Association. This year 15 local sugar houses throughout a multi-county area are participating in the popular activity.

Maple syrup production in the region has played an important role in the history of the area, according to Allen Montgomery of the Edinboro Area Historical Society and Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum also in Edinboro. As the sap was collected and boiled, it was a time for families and neighbors to congregate and welcome spring, catch up on local news and just relax. The syrup also provided many farms with extra cash for spring planting.

The Route 6 Alliance is also promoting the region, it's heritage, beauty and resources.

The Alliance wrote in a recent Press Release: “Maple Producers are a key part of the history and heritage along PA Route 6. These skilled craftsmen have passed along traditional production methods and developed an extensive product line that proves that maple syrup is just not for breakfast anymore. Declaring that Pennsylvania has the best maple syrup and products in the country, the PA Route 6 Alliance is recognizing March as Maple Month across Route 6.”

There are a wide range of maple products available at the participating Sugar House; there's maple mustard, barbeque sauce, candies, maple coated nuts, maple cotton candy, even tea and much more. Maple Syrup is a good, organic choice. Ongoing research indicates that maple syrup is a natural and healthy food, according to the International Maple Institute.

“Pure Maple Syrup is a unique and natural product produced exclusively by the concentration of sap from the maple tree. It is a natural sweetner that contains no added sugar, coloring agents, artificial flavorings, preservatives or other additives, and is a superior source of important nutrients and vitamins when compared to other sweetners.”

 

In most years, the sap begins to run in mid to late February. This winter has been late leaving. There's plenty of snow on the ground, although it is melting. It's Mud Season. But there will be plenty of maple syrup and products.

“We are ready and have plenty of syrup and products and some of the sap is beginning to flow,” Bill Phillips the president of the northwestern PA Maple Producers Association, said. “Some years, it has been warm and dry, but it is going to be important for people to dress appropriately for the weather. Boots are going to be important.”

Phillips Sugar House, Fort LeBoeuf Maple, is located in Waterford. They are planning on cooking a lot of pancakes and sausages this year.
UPDATE : The weather forecasts are calling for rain on Saturday the 14th followed by some periods of snow on Sunday the 15th. According to Phillips this is agriculture and we are use to the weather. A Saturday trip to a Sugar Shack, well, take some rain gear.

“Each Sugar House has different activities and demonstrations,” he said. “Visitors can check our Web page to see what events and demonstrations will be held at each Sugar House.”

The Web page for the Association is, PA Maple.

Janet Woods of Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum is ready to welcome visitors.

 Deep winter snow surrounds Hurry Hill Maple Farm Museum where the decorative keelers await the mild March temperatures that will produce "mud and snow". Photo and caption by Allen Montgomery

“We are as ready as ever,” Woods said. “We have a lot of activities planned at the Museum for children and adults. We'll also have our sampling room open for visitors.”

The Pennsylvania Hardwoods Council will also have their WoodMobile at the Museum open for tours.

The Museum is also open every Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. through the end of May.

Laura Dengler of How Sweet It Is SugarHouse in Saegertown is also ready to greet visitors all weekend.

“It's been difficult getting into the woods with all the deep snow, but we are ready,” she said.

Dengler gives frequent workshops on backyard sugaring for home use. One of the most recent demonstration on backyard sugaring was held at the recent Lake Erie Maple Expo held several months ago in Albion.

For more information on the Taste and Tour Weekend, Open House.

And Just for the Heck of It

We’re not the only creatures who practice sugar maple tapping. The North American squirrel, Sciurus carolinensusk, also taps during sugaring season by gouging the bark of young maple trees with their two front teeth and drinking the sap that flows.