My grandma liked to sing – and among the hundreds of little toe tapping songs she taught to us when we were children, there is one that sticks to my mind today… I don’t know if it is a real song – but this is how I remember it it.
“What will we do if the bed breaks down?
Sleep on the floor.
What will we do if the money runs out?
Work hard for more.
What will we do if the wood runs low?
Chop down some more.
Chop. Chop. Chop.
Chop. Chop. Chop.
Chop down some more.”
Today, I am also tapping my toes somewhat impatiently because my husband is returning from one of his business trips. I am anxious for him to return because we hoped to tap a few maple trees together this year and the sap is running. I don’t want to make a big operation of it, but I thought it would be nice to have 4 or five litres for our own use. Maybe a small bit of maple sugar candy too. It takes quite some sap to make a little bit of syrup; anywhere from 10-20 gallons to make a litre so there is a lot cooking down to do!
The land here has about 5 good solid acres of tappable maple trees and with the slope, it would also be quite a sensible spot for a sugar shack – gravity would do all the lugging or if there were lines the slope would do all the thinking for me. This means the workload would be a little less than it is for some sugar producers.
When I move here full time, maple syrup is an option for a small source of income. As you know, I don’t need to make much money to live well. As things exist right now – I estimate that would be able to live very comfortably on $500/month.
Sugar is a lot of work, good exercise though!
Tap, tap, tapping…
Tiny House Ontario 