The Little Rebellion

Maple Sugar Season Kicks Off with a Sawing Song

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by

Charlene V. Martoni

Chris Iversen, manager of the Brook Farm Project in New Paltz, teaches volunteers a work song to sing as they saw wood. The maple sugaring prep work and potluck took place Feb. 23.
Video by Charlene V. Martoni.

Creek Iverson (seated first from right), Manager of the Brook Farm Project in New Paltz, NY, explains to the group of volunteers, who have come for the Maple Sugaring Prep Work Party and Potluck, the prep work for the morning, while his managing partner, Lisa Mitten (first from left) looks on. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Local volunteers Stephen Gilman (left) and Seamus Schwartz help gather wood in preparation for use in building fires to boil the sap once the sugar maple trees have been tapped. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, begins to cut the wood while explaining to the group of volunteers that it is customary to sing a lumberjack song while cutting. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project (in the center wearing the yellow sweater), passes over the saw to volunteer Zach Baker of NYC, so that he may teach the lumberjack song to the group for a sing a long. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Led by Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project (second from the right), the group of volunteers participate in a sing a long to a customary lumberjack song, while Zack Baker of NYC, cuts the wood for the fire. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

The group of volunteers at the Maple Sugaring Prep Work and Potluck, taking place at the Brook Farm project in New Paltz, NY, gather around farm manager Creek Iverson to participate in the lumberjack song sing a long. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz, NY, prepares to chop wood for the wood burner inside of the farmhouse where volunteers are taking a break to escape the drizzly damp day. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Volunteers Arianna Eisenson and Luciano Lemos wash and prepare the buckets to be used to collect sap from the tapped sugar maple trees. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Volunteer April Alfieri of Guilderland, NY (second from left) leads the way as the group of volunteers move toward the lawn to witness a demonstration being given about tapping a sugar maple tree. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz NY, gives an in depth explanation to the group of volunteers about the process of making maple syrup beginning with how to know a tree is a sugar maple, how large a tree must be to be tapped, and how much maple syrup each tree will make. Iverson explains that it takes approximately 10 gallons of sap to get just 1 quart of maple syrup. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz NY, while giving a demonstration of tapping a sugar maple tree to a group of prep work volunteers, teaches the group that one should give the chosen sugar maple tree a hug of “thanks” for sharing its sap with us so that we may enjoy maple syrup. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz, NY, explains to a group of people volunteering for a day of maple sugaring prep work, that in order to tap a sugar maple tree in the best spot possible, one should find a spot where the tree is the warmest, typically where the sun hits the tree the most, which would be located on the south side of the tree’s trunk. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz, NY, shows three young volunteers: Seamus Schwartz (left), Lucas Lemos (second from left) and Ben Gilman (right) how to choose the perfect spot to tap the sugar maple tree based on location of the sun and leaving enough room to allow the bucket to hang below the spout. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Ben Gilman, a young volunteer at the Maple Sugaring Prep Work party and potluck (right), looks on with serious determination as he watches Creek Iverson, manager of the Brook Farm Project, New Paltz, NY, give a demonstration on drilling the perfect place to position the spout for tapping the sugar maple tree for sap. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Luciano Lemos (left) looks over his son Lucas Lemos (second from left) as he and Seamus Schwartz (yellow hat) watch intently while Creek Iverson sets the tap and the bucket to catch the sap from the maple tree. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Three young volunteers: Ben Gilman (bottom), Seamus Schwartz (right) and Lucas Lemos (top left) wait patiently for the fruits of their labor as they stand over the first bucket tapped for the day. They wait for the first signs of sap to drip from the sugar maple tree at the Maple Sugaring Prep Work Party and Potluck taking place at the Brook Farm Project in New Paltz, NY. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

The first to be daring, volunteer Lucas Lemos dips his finger into the sap so that he may get his first taste of sap directly from a sugar maple tree at the Maple Sugaring Prep Work Party and Potluck taking place at the Brook Farm Project in New Paltz, NY. Photo by Dawna M. Cservak.

Brook Farm Charlene V. Martoni Chris Iverson Maple Syrup New Paltz