Evening briefs in Indian Country - Headlines from April 29, 2021

Sugarbush brings healing, sweet maple syrup

ODANAH, Wisconsin — Sugarbush time begins in the fleeting moments when winter first signals its departure, making way for spring. When the daytime temperatures rise above 40 degrees, usually about mid-March, the maple sap begins to flow.

Although one can continue to gather sap after trees begin to bud, the syrup is bitter. Sugarbush is a short, delicious season of intense work signaling that the first fruits of the earth are emerging. Fresh maple sap is highly perishable and must be cooked into syrup or sugar soon after gathering. Sugarbush time usually lasts about 3 weeks.

Long ago, the sap was cooked down into sugar, easier to store and lighter than syrup.

https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/evening-briefs-in-indian-country-april-29