NEED A BREAK from the winter doldrums or just an excuse to go outside and get some fresh air and a little bit of exercise? There’s a solution, one that produces a sticky, maple-flavored treat.
While the North Olympic Peninsula will never be mistaken for Vermont, it’s maple sugaring time in our area.
“One of the more fun things to do in the dead of winter on the North Olympic Peninsula is to tap your own native big leaf maples for sap to make your own maple syrup,” Quilcene’s Ward Norden said.
“The delicate flavor of our own maple syrup is wonderful on pancakes and waffles, but that is not all. When boiled halfway down, cooking Calrose rice with it is a special treat. Boiled a little farther down but not to syrup, it is a fine mixer for bourbon.”
Norden said he calls that concoction “real branch water,” a punny little reference to the limestone-filtered water that is used in bourbon production in Kentucky.
Boiling down the syrup should be done outside, not in your kitchen, as enough sugar exists in the steam to coat walls with newly growing organisms.
Norden has a barn on his property, and he has friends who boil their syrup on a covered porch.
The maple tapping season begins around New Year’s Day and lasts until the first spring buds break on trees, or about two months, according to Norden.
“This week, we installed our first taps, called spiles, in some of our best producers,” Norden said. “A good producing tree in my experience is usually a young, growing tree about 8-to-10-inches in diameter, not necessarily a large tree. With a perfect weather day, those trees will produce about a gallon each. One gallon of the crystal clear sap will produce about 5 ounces of syrup.
“A perfect day consists of a frosty morning followed by a sunny day to warm the crown of the tree to draw sap from the roots.”
And don’t tap too many trees at once, or else risk getting inundated with sap if we get another stretch of sunny and crisp weather.
State Parks meetings
Those interested in the direction of the state Parks system and in Naval jet training plans should take note of two upcoming meetings.
Tonight, the state Parks and Recreation Commission will discuss and select candidates to interview for the state park director position.
In November, current State Parks Director Don Hoch announced he will retire March 2, after more than 10 years as the agency’s director.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. https://tinyurl.com/PDN-StateParks121 with password WAP@rks2021 or by calling 415-655-0001 with access code 177 771 7925.
Next Thursday, the Commission is expected to take action on a Naval proposal to conduct special operations training at 28 state parks, including Fort Worden, Fort Flagler, Fort Townsend, Dosewallips, Shine Tidelands, Triton Cove state parks in Jefferson County and Sequim Bay State Park in Clallam County.
Public comment is expected to be lengthy, so a special public comment-only meeting has been set up in advance on Tuesday and will start at 9 a.m. at https://tinyurl.com/PDN-Jan26
The regular meeting will be held via WebEx at https://tinyurl.com/PDN-Jan28 and streamed live on TVW with a call-in option for those who cannot access the online streams.
The password is WAP@rks2021 for both events.
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Sports reporter Michael Carman can be contacted at 360-406-0674 or mcarman@ peninsuladaily news.com.
