Sugar-Bush-It-Old-School: Step Three

Gather your professional tapping supplies:

1. The brace and bit your father's father used when he was young (and don't roll your eyes when your dad drops it off and asks you "not to forget it outside on the ground or gouge any nicks in the smooth, soft wood of the handle." He's known you, after all, since you entered the world.)

2.  A bundle of plastic milk jugs strung together with a loop of balertwine (I forewent the metal buckets this year because of the time they take to scrub and sanitize.  Plus, I'd have to test them for leaks all over again, which is a shame, because they hold much more sap while simultaneously meeting an aesthetic need that the milk jugs can't.  It's okay, though.  Forget aesthetics and think of the syrup.)

Argh!  But look how pretty is was last year!!!

 

Forgive me.  Moving on...

3. The spiles, sanitized and scrubbed

4.  Enough lengths of wire to hang a jug from each spile

5. Your five children, because, you know, your Heart's at work, and they're excited, and you are, too, and it's easy to forget how freezing cold it will be 30 minutes after you leave the house.

6.  A hefty hammer, OR, if you broke the handle of your hammer repairing part of the chicken coop roosts and haven't yet purchased a replacement, take along a can of black beans from Aldi.  Yep, you heard me.  A CAN OF BLACK BEANS FROM ALDI.  By the time you finish pounding in 15 spiles, bean juice will be leaking out of holes in the battered can, but it will all turn out just fine.  Trust me on this.

7.  Maple trees.  They're the easiest supply to gather because they don't move.  (At least not outside of Tolkien's world.)

8.  Oh, yeah.  And a twig.  You'll see why in a minute.