maple syrup time at farmer tim's

[lonehunter]

well it's maple syrup time at farmer tim's , as we arrived he had already started to collect the sap .

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needless to say , the kids wern't shy about lending a helping hand with the gathering . farmer tim's companion a young grouse followes him around every day ( center of the right pic on a branch )
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as you notice all the trees are tapped on the south side of the tree , the suns heat thaws the drip tubes after a freesing cold night .

the girls filling farmer tim's collection cart . [url "http://preview.ecomplanet.com/output.asp?display=PageAlbum&action=FullView&Pic=2&did=HOLL7787&PageNumber=1&Title=hunting"][/url] [url "http://preview.ecomplanet.com/output.asp?display=PageAlbum&action=FullView&Pic=5&did=HOLL7787&PageNumber=1&Title=hunting"][/url]


after two 35 gallon loads of sap , farmer tim has to drain the liquid gold into the holding tank , he uses a drill motor with a drill pump attached .

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farmer tim's dad gets the cooker fired up to boil out the excess water . [url "http://preview.ecomplanet.com/output.asp?display=PageAlbum&action=FullView&Pic=7&did=HOLL7787&PageNumber=1&Title=hunting"][/url] [url "http://preview.ecomplanet.com/output.asp?display=PageAlbum&action=FullView&Pic=8&did=HOLL7787&PageNumber=1&Title=hunting"][/url]

as the sap starts to cook down a skin starts to form , farmer tim's dad spends a whole lot of hours skimming off the skin because it containes the sand that is drawn up thru the trees roots to nourish the tree , there kind of like miniture vitamin pills for the tree .

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farmer tim's dad will remain here untill the wee hours of the mourning , tending to the cooker , adding more wood to the fire , more sap to the cooker , and skimming off all the sand . in total for this day over 275 gallons of sap will be boiled down into five gallons of real home made maple syrup . once done he will take it in to the house . farmer tim's mom and dad will then spend the last few hours of night time canning up another batch into one quart mason jars .

this process goes on untill the sap quits running , day in and day out . it provides there family and neighbors enough real maple syrup to last over a year . not bad for a little hard work .

my thanks to farmer tim and his family for providing us this look into a lost form of harvesting of our natural resourses , and for the sample quart of that liquid gold . once you've tasted the real thing , the store bought stuff just doesn't compaire .
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[lonewolf]

your right about one thing [size 1] once you've tasted the real thing , the store bought stuff just doesn't compaire . tims dad lets the fire go down . lonehunter have you had some maple syrup on french vennla ice cream its so good!!![/size]
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[CatchEm]

Absolutely wonderful post, thanks lonehunter. Very interesting, informative, and appetizing.
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[davetclown]

I used to make it when I was a kid back on the farm, sure miss them days.

find out what it will cost me to get a mason jar. if at all posible.
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[lonehunter]

will do ! it's too bad we can't put up a jar for product testers , there'de be a gazillion people wanting it !
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[davetclown]

actualy you could if he is usda aproved and sells it.

maple suryp is an exicelent ingrediant for smoked fish resipie.
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[lonehunter]

nope , not approved . farmer tim is one of the few remaining icons of a era gone by . he and his family do a lot of things the good old fashoned way . last week ( during the maple time as well ) he and his father butchered up a buffalo . that evening imagine sitting down to a 1-1/2 medium well done steak almost as big around as a car tire . he said it was better than any porterhouse steak he has ever had .

this comming week will be stealhead and suckers . as many suckers as he can get ! farmer tim , his father and mother spend the evening cleaning the fish and prepare them for canning . most people would cringe at the thought of eating suckers , but once you have tasted a good smoked one , well you will be hooked . as for the canned stuff , let me tell you how they got me to eat some .

before we went to the last boat show , farmer tim's family invited me over for "salmon patties " as dinner . the table was set with homemade biscuts , home canned stringbeans and corn , home churned butter , salad and the biggest platter of fish patties i have ever seen . the only thing from the store on that table was the dishes and the salt and pepper .

well they waited for me to taste the fish and then asked how i liked it , pure heaven i said . tim d as his dad did too , his mom being a little cautous said , allen , that's not salmon , it's sucker patties . ( i suspect farmer tim wasen't going to say anything untill after dinner ) well i just looked at her and said , there delicous ! i'm going to have more please !

you should have seen that on her face , a of pride . that lady is one great cook i'll tell you that .

farmer tims family takes full advantage of the natural recorses that abound on there property . harvesting there own lumber , maple syrup , mushrooms , wild game , and fish . they continuously have some project going on that the whole family shares in . life couldn't get much better than that .
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[lonehunter]

[cool]
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[lou]

try it on your homemade pancakes and waffles yet?? i make em for jack nearly every weekend and i bought 2 gallons off my friend bruce last week. i use it for cookin more than i do anythin else. too. i make my son those wugar cookies adn use maple syrup insead. there better. i also make a good sause for pork with it too. put over the top of em and bake em.
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[lonehunter]

dave's got some recipes going on the ice fishing forum , ya ought to put some up there . they sound good !
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[stormy26]

Dave
I have a friend that makes it here in walled lake.
They live off of walled lake drive in between pepino's resturant and the masonic temple on the north side of the road. I was there over the weekend and he has been selling alot of it up this year. He has all different sizes, 1/2 pint to a gallon. Look for the table out front. I picked up a pint for my sell and it was great.
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