Spike started making maple syrup in February 2010, when he bought 10 taps at Agway and tapped the trees in our yard. Cooking the sap over an open fire and using a restaurant steamer pan, he produced about a gallon and a half of syrup, much of which we used for favors at our summer wedding.
In 2011, Spike expanded the operation by building an arch (firebox) out of a household fuel oil tank and purchased a used front pan. He boiled syrup day and night in front of our garage, producing several gallons of tasty syrup.
Each year since, Spike has continued to grow our production capacity through innovation and hard work. In 2012, he built a sugarhouse and expanded the arch with a second oil tank, adding a drop-flue pan. In 2016, he moved the sugarhouse to a better location, built a retail addition that doubled our square footage, purchased an amazing set of custom-made pans from Smoke Lake Maple in Minnesota, and secured a federal grant for the purchase of a reverse osmosis machine.
Other Spike-designed and fabricated additions have included a cream machine, a steam hood and preheater, and a filter press that allow us to package our product in beautiful glass containers. Perhaps best of all, he came up with the idea to add a solar array to the roofs of our house and garage, so now the electricity that runs our machinery is provided by nature, just like the sap we use to make our delicious maple products. We call it "making syrup with sunshine."
While Spike handles the production end of the business, Matty works to maintain our website and social media presence, manage branding, and ship products to our customers near and far. During the maple season, we work side by side to welcome visitors and run the retail operation as well as the production line.
We love making syrup, and it shows. Come visit us so we can tell your more about ourselves and our sugaring operation!
