 |  SHARON | Maple Syrup - Part 2 My son Christopher started this hobby just out of high school and continues to this day. |
 "Carrying sap buckets" shows how the sap gets from the small collection buckets beneath each tap to the larger transport tank. |  Christopher is transferring the sap from the pail into the larger transport tank which he then takes to his house for the evaporation process. The wood in the back of the pick-up truck is free cedar scraps from a local fencing company which he recycles as fuel for the wood-burning furnace beneath the evaporator. |
 |  This picture reveals 52 gallons of clear sap collected during a 24 hour period. The ratio of sap to actual syrup is 40:1. So this tankful will yield approximately 1.3 gallons of syrup. |
 The actual fire in the furnace  The old burner furnace from Rutland, VT |  This is the processor. It shows the entire assembly of furnace, 2 evaporator trays and exhaust pipe/chimney at Christopher's house. |
 Constant stirring and keeping the heat at the proper temperature is key to the process of making "syrup". It takes many hours (and several beers) to boil off the water while making sure the sap doesn't burn. |  The photo of the two pans clearly shows the difference in concentrations due to the evaporation process. Fresh sap is clear and watery. As the solution boils, water evaporates just as it would on a kitchen stove thus causing the solution to become more sugar-concentrated. |
There is more to this process so I will add more pictures to PICTURESQUE! as the process continues.
Sharon