Recent mild spell leads to sweet start of the maple syrup season
Take it as a sweet sign of Canadian tradition flowing smoothly, as volunteers at the Kinsmen Fanshawe Sugar Bush tap into a promising maple syrup season.
"Last year, we were boiling on the 13th of February. This year, we've started quiet a bit earlier. This is our fourth day of boiling right now,” said Kinsmen Fanshawe Sugar Bush chair Darryl Van Moorsel.
Kinsmen is the only not-for-profit sugar bush in Canada. It harvests sap from about 1,300 taps. Each one produces approximately one litre of sap, depending on the season.
"Because it's been so warm, the trees were giving a lot of sap and now they've actually really slowed down. Right now, we have hardly any sap coming in because it has been so warm,"explained Van Moorsel.
He’s now in his seventh year of boiling maple syrup – and calls it's a science.
Kinsmen Fanshawe Sugar Bush as seen on Feb. 12, 2024. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London) With fluctuating temperatures, it’s become difficult to predict the length of the production season.
"As long as we keep getting those minuses at night … and plus ten during the day, this season will go on for quite a while,” Van Moorsel added.
The maple syrup season historically began in late March or early April. Over the years, however, a change in climate patterns has slowly pushed back the start date into February.
"Mother Nature is Mother Nature and we can't do anything about it. All we can do is hope for a good season and I’m pretty sure we'll still get one,” he said.
Kinsmen will officially open for public tours this upcoming Family Day weekend, serving breakfast and offering educational guided tours.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What Trudeau's podcast appearances say about the Liberals' next ballot box question
Trudeau recently appeared on four podcasts as he travels the country talking up the Liberals' latest budget, which he's pitching as a plan to inject more economic fairness into society for those under 40 — a cohort that has kept Trudeau in power since 2015 but is increasingly turning to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.