When I In Awesome Wonder…Michigan’s Golden Coast: Sugartime

It is nearing the end of February. One of the old timers I talked to the other day talked about starting to “hang out a few pails” to see if the sap is running in the sugar maples. Warming days and cold nights combined with the longer daylight hours trigger the flow of sap into the branches and buds of the tree, pumping the stored plant food from the roots to the top. Though many plants produce sugars, such as sugar cane and flowers, the harvest of the sap of the sugar maple is unique to North...