Spring Time In the Forest

Some of the Highlights and joys of time spent during syrup season in "The land between"

Each year the Lenten season coincides with my Maple Syrup season. In late February I begin my journey in our 300 acre forest sugar camp in the “Land Between” in the Kawartha Lakes region of Ontario. The camp is located down a dead end road far from the nearest hydro hookup.

Sap from the sugar maple tree is very much like the manna that God provided for the Israelites in their journey in the wilderness. With the warming of the springtime sun the sap rises in the trunk of the sugar maple tree to be collected and boiled down to produce a food of incredible taste and aroma.

My original ancestor arrived in Canada from Germany and assumed responsibility for our land from the Mississaugas of the New Credit in 1794. The Native peoples undoubtedly taught him the opportunity that resides within the sugar maple tree. These thoughts help me to recognize the amazing journey that humans have had on our land.

My springtime journey involves tapping the trees, gathering the sap, running the bubbling evaporator and managing the finishing and bottling of the maple syrup. Working in the forest provides a wonderful time for self reflection of what is really important in life. To sit with a wheelbarrow of wood feeding the roaring fire and listening to the ‘Hrrrrrrrr…..” of the escaping steam from the evaporator pan is so incredibly relaxing and provides a time to reflect on your life and to think about the opportunities that await you in the coming year.

To step out of the camp door on a starlit night with no light pollution to limit your view of the amazing solar system: just you, the quiet darkness and the stars, one gains the confidence that god has the world under his control.

It is a glory to experience the first hint of daylight in the eastern sky that you know will lead to the golden rays of the rising sun soon painting the tree tops with a gold crown that gradually reaches down the tree trunk to warm the earth.

It is also a time to enjoy the members of the family who gather to help their aging father with the many syrup making activities. It is a joy to know that my granddaughters are prepared to spend the night firing the evaporator so we can keep up with the sap flowing from the trees.

While living and working in our remote site I avoid the “fire hose” of bad news that comes daily from the radio, TV and newspapers. I have time to commune more fully with the natural surroundings and recognize ones role in God’s natural world.

As the syrup journey continues, spring creeps forward. The birds return to the forest, the Canada geese fly overhead, the sounds of the woodpeckers become more evident and the pair of goshawks return to build their stick nest close by. Soon the trees begin to release their leaves, the leeks push their heads through the leaf litter and the trilliums begin to flower. My Lenten journey ends with the return of the barn swallows on Easter Sunday.

I miss attending many of the Lenten services at our church but I end the syrup season knowing that I have had the stamina to complete my ‘Lenten’ journey, that I have a loving family, that God has a definite place for me in his wonderful world, and that I have a responsibility to thank him continuously for the many blessings he provides in my life.

Lorne R. Smith

Mytown Maple Syrup