Trees Give up Their Sap

Just as I went to write this blip journal a flock of male American Robins arrived in the neighbourhood... along with a single red (male) cardinal. I counted 18 robins across the street listening for the earthworms plodding under the lawn. They stood about one per every three square feet. And two or three jumped around up in the maple tree outside my kitchen window. Why no blip of this event?
Well, we are following the Saga of the Oxford Syrup collection today, as promised to my loyal fans.
Also, I noticed how filthy filmy all the windows are from leftover drywall renovation dust. When I opened the door slightly to capture a photo, the tree jumping robins flew off to listen for worms, too. It will be two week now before the females arrive. Then we can officially declare spring. Usually we get one, final intense snowstorm after the robins first appear. I read in The Guardian that a further month of this cold weather is predicted for much of the UK. I sure hope those predictors are wrong.
Since we had about an inch of snow last night and it is melting today I do not feel we are in spring yet. That's bad news for the maple syrup sap collectors. I was told that if they could get one more month of this very cold weather we've been enjoying suffering through then the Company would really collect a maximum amount of sap this their first year in the maple syrup business. I explained to Peter, the co-owner/collector that one further month of -0º C weather and we will all become homicidal or worse.
The picture of the day shows long plastic tubes running from the tree taps and connecting them to 55 gallon food-grade, blue plastic drums. Yesterday the view was inside the drum as the sap poured in and Peter pumped it out and into a huge collection drum on the back of his pick up truck (more photos to follow).
If you look to the right of this blip you will see the long hose line going to another bright blue drum across the street.
Before Peter and his partner started their collecting business they knocked on doors and asked permission to tap the trees. As far as I know they have never been tapped... must have been a new experience for the trees to give up their sap. The convenient way to collect sap seem to be if there are two or three trees planted along the property in a straight line. Then it's just hose and drum connections all the way.
I expect to see one or two more collecting detail blips and then we'll get out to the big red barn on the highway where Peter directed invited me to watch the operation. I have seen the sugaring process done years ago in a hand built cabin in the woods on the outskirts of the village. The man collected daily from his trees that had tin buckets hanging from them. He had a cart pulled by his old dark brown horse. All morning they moved through the forest from tree to tree before returning to the evaporator tray in the wood heated cabin.. Such a romantic, picture-perfect, and very labour intensive way to make syrup. I'll be interested to see if the evaporation is done the same way... stay tuned.
I suspect that Peter is not too happy to see the joyous fat robins invading the village today! As soon as it gets warm enough at night the sap stops flowing and the trees make leaves and flowers. One of my maples has tiny red buds just starting even now.
I give them two weeks until the Lady Robins arrive then sap will rise too.