Late winter and early spring can find a New England game warden with a little more free time than they’re used to, and many have found a sweet way to tap into one of the nature’s greatest springtime gifts. As maple syrup season draws to a close, we catch up with Maine’s Chris Simmons, of Simmons and Daughters Sugar House, and Ken St. Pierre, of Big Lake Maple in New Hampshire, to learn just what it takes to run a successful sugar house.

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Here’s what we discuss:

·        Chris got started making syrup with his brothers on the family farm

·        Tapping and processing with whatever they could find

·        Ken was inspired by a colleague who tapped

·        “That’s an awful idea.”

·        Rebuilding a 100-year-old evaporator

·        The expense of expansion

·        Buckets vs. tap lines

·        Weather has made this season’s sap run unpredictable

·        Syruping can be an activity for the whole family

·        Can be as basic or as complex as you want it to be

·        “A heat source, a thermometer, a vessel, and sap.”

·        Make room for friends and neighbors!

·        Chris’ recipe for maple hot dogs

·        Natural syrup is an antioxidant

·        More than a topping: cooking with maple

·        Travel-sized containers can come in handy

·        Where to find Chris and Ken’s websites

Credits

Hosts: Wayne Saunders and John Nores

Producer: Jay Ammann

Art & Design: Ashley Hannett

Research / Content Coordinator: Stacey DesRoches

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