An outbuilding. A retired boat or two. And maple trees just starting to turn in the distance. That’s what’s happening in this backyard! What’s your maple and backyard news?
Maple News
Is maple syrup more sustainable than cane sugar? Apparently! Will maple be an ingredient in space food for Mars? We hope so. Have any maple sugar makers made it to the Baseball Hall of Fame? Yep! Now guess what team they played for! And how DID the town of Sugar Camp, Wisconsin get its name?
Good fun. Unlike the last sugaring season, which was a bit of a bummer, unless you live in Kentucky. But we’re all celebrating anyway! The Vermont Maple 100 is well underway, and the Maine Maple Fest takes place in October, too.
Here’s some good news. If you are a United States veteran who lives in New Jersey or New York and is interested in learning more about making maple syrup, cream, candy and sugar, you can now register to learn at Cornell for free. Folks just starting out may be interested in tips for starting a maple syrup company instead. At any rate, take heart! High school students can start maple syrup companies, too!
In other industry news, Runamok Maple launched a line of honey, a new survey shows that most maple purchases are made in the fall, and the dreaded spotted lanternfly has been . . . spotted in Massachusetts.
Backyard News
Backyard news is all about mulch, growing things in greenhouses and keeping bees. Also seasonal: turning backyard apples into cider through community brewing projects, harvesting backyard nuts, and roasting sunflowers on the stalk.
We backyard people are nothing if not enterprising. New in backyard startups include an art gallery, a Lebanese restaurant, and a pop-up picnic area. Also relevant, if tangential: a photography exibit about the backyards of 1990s San Diego. Fascinating! Just like the things we continue to find in our backyards, including rare geological features and—seasonally appropriate—an intact headstone.
But let us all leave our leaf-blowers in the garage! For they are the enemies of beautiful wildlife in addition to being energy intensive.