It’s been a frosty winter, but with temperatures beginning to rise, the Waterloo Wellington Chapter of the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association (OMSPA) launched the season with the first-tap ceremony on February 27.
Elmira Maple Syrup Festival chair Marc McInerney and committee member Caitlin McCabe both got the chance to drill into the chosen tree at Maple Tap Farm in New Dundee, using a cordless Milwaukee drill rather than an old-fashioned hand crank.
Then, using a metal hammer with a wood grip, they both knocked in a spile with the help of syrup guru Andrew Sallans, and then attached the bucket to start collecting sap in the sunny weather.
;
;
;
