I was born in Canada and have spent my entire life here. But this passed weekend, I participated in a true Canadian right of passage. I tapped my very first maple tree.

Growing up, my fiancé Frank, used to tap maple trees and boil the sap into maple syrup with his dad. As an adult, the seasonal routine had fallen by the wayside.

Last week was March Break here for our kids. Last year, we took a family road trip to Florida. This year, travel is prohibited and many regular activities were closed or sold out. We were wracking our brains trying to think of activities to do with the kids to make their time off fun.

We took them skating, hiking, playing outside and spent time at our local library. But for our final day off together, Frank suggested we tap the trees on his dad’s property.

Frank bought some buckets, covers and taps. We brought a drill and other tools. Loaded up a sled with the material we needed and snacks, lots and lots of snacks, then went for a walk in the woods to find the best maple trees.

Of course, the day we decided to go was bitterly cold. The wind was cut down a bit by the trees but it didn’t take long for our feet and fingers to freeze. But being the true Canadians we are, we toughed it out for the couple of hours it took. I wore my snowshoes and had the kids chase me through the snow in their boots to get our bodies moving and warmed up.

The boys had never experienced tapping maple trees. The girls had done it with their mother before. Frank’s nephew came along with us as well. The kids took turns drilling and hammering the tap into the hole, hanging the buckets and putting on the covers. We had an assembly line going on for awhile with each child bringing a different part to install on the tree.

We did a total of 32 trees and in the end we had all performed our Canadian right of passage. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to try. The opportunity had just never arisen. I have been to a few sugaring-offs, where you eat the hot maple syrup on snow but I had never participated in the beginning stages. Now, I have. Check!

This was just the first step. The next fun part will be to collect the sap from the buckets until we get enough to boil. We are not sure how long the sap will run but it will be interesting to check the buckets and see how much we can get this spring. I will definitely be sharing that portion of the process in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

Have you ever tapped maple trees? What did you do over March break with your kids?

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