When we begin, snow crunches underfoot, breath hangs in the air, and the woods are still. Each tap we put in is a small act of faith that the world will warm and spring will appear. Slowly, as we check buckets and find delight in the trees’ responses to the changing temperatures, we find that there’s less and less ice on the pond, that small green shoots are poking through the leaves on the forest floor, and that we can leave our heavy winter coats behind as we work. The buckets fill up.
As we sit by the evaporator in the evening, feeding logs to the flames and watching the wisps of steam rise from the pan, we hear the first meeps and whirs of woodcocks spiraling as they try to win each other over. By the time all of the sap has been transformed to golden, sticky, viscous syrup, we find that the world has been transformed as well, and that spring has arrived.
The Trimber family has been making syrup for on one scale or another for years, craving the sweetness and the connection to our trees and our land that comes with it. Now, we’re excited to be able to share it more widely through Trimber Forest Farm. We hope you’ll love it as much as we do!