Great video thanks for taking the time... just bought into a farm site with a sap tree forest we call Manitoba Maple which traditionally produces nice syrup...hope to be at it in the spring....love that he gives it to his family... a wonderful passage about nourishment in an amazing book called the iching states: "If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates"
I just read the full quote...wonderful..."Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself. Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others. In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes."
@@theacornmama Cy has a gift to relay good honest experience and it's priceless.and the video is top notch! I have produced music videos and it's not an easy undertaking....thanks again these kind of videos are so important when they provide decades of experience without trying to sell something truly what the internet is for...take care...
Thank you so much for this lovely video... The greatest thing I have heard is when this gentleman said "I don't sale syrup, I'm sharing with neighbors, visitors, children and grand children" Respect!
Mr. Lepak, this is the best, most detailed explanation of how maple syrup is made that I have ever seen in my brief 74 years.Thank you and good health going forward to you and yours.
This is amazing! I love how this craft has been passed down in the family to be enjoyed by future generations. This fellow is exceptional at making maple syrup and is very inspiring to watch.
Friends and I have recently started maple tapping. This by far is the most enjoyable video I've watched. It's educational, informational and in a way, nostalgic. Thank you!
This video was brilliant. You can tell Mr Lepak has been doing this since he was a young boy. Very very knowledgeable. My operation is small but I keep adding to it every year, slowly but surely I'll have it to where I want it to be. My retirement will be in a few years and my plan is to be able to make enough to cover costs and like Mr Lepak I will give it to my family and friends. I just want to be out on my land enjoying what I worked for all these years. I would love to be able to help out for free for a season just to listen to Mr Lepak's wisdom. I bet he has a million stories and an abundance of life lessons to share. Bravo Mr Lepak, you're one in a million Sir!
Julie, I have watched this before, but always enjoy watching it again. Thank you for the tribute to "Grandpa Dan"! He SO loved coming up to Cumberland to do this. One of his favorite things to do every year.
Thanks so much! We just tapped trees the past two days, but I don't think the real flow will start until later this week. It was an honor to meet Dan. We always think of him during sapping season and miss his calm presence.
Just wanted to let you know that I stopped by again today to watch my favorite video on TH-cam. I share it as much as I can. "That's a Sandhill Crane." - Favorite part. Thanks Julie.
Thanks so much! What a great compliment. Yes, that's a great line. Have you watched the companion video of Cy reading a poem about sapping? "Come! We're Making Maple Syrup" @
mouth watering the whole video...only to find out he doesn't sell any...sure would LOVE to be his grandson while during ANY of the work being done just to be able to have a bottle or two. great video! thank you very much for sharing all of your experience!
My 3-year old daughter just spent the entire 19+ minutes on my lap fixated on both the videos and his voice. I am so thankful to have watched this, and that you took the time to share in your knowledge and passion. It truly was a beautiful experience! (From Stouffville, Ontario, Canada).
This was so fun to watch. Cy was one of my catechism teachers. It was especially wonderful to see his daughter, Vicki, in the video. She was one of my classmates. Thank you so much for sharing!
This man is a TREASURE ! He makes his maple syrup with love, enjoyment, art from one to another generation and he s proud to keep it real and natural, he is not desperate to make it commercially !!!!This man is a TREASURE!!!!!! This video is educational but also help us to think about how he explained and sees mother nature! Thank you so much for your time!
This is precious. Thank you for creating it. Being from MI and living in a state that cannot grow sugar maples, I miss these kinds of things. I was able to show this to my children and we even made maple snow candy today.
A lovely video,thankyou ....for your valuable time, showing us, who take bottles on a supermarket shelf for granted, all the effort and energy and knowledge that goes into producing maple syrup. So lovely also,to see your ‘at oneness’ with nature, listening and watching for the signs telling you the time is right. Thankyou again.
Thank you so very much for the great lesson. It is people like you who take the time to pass on knowledge and history that keep the old arts and ways from being forgotten. If we don't pass on traditions and trades like this to those who show interest it truly is a shame. My wife and I purchased property in northern WI and this will be the first year I will attempt to harvest, boil, and bottle some syrup for my family and loved ones. Thank you again for not only teaching me about how to create syrup from mother nature but providing a some wonderful history about this tradition also. Frank D. Land O Lakes, WI
I am a Wisconsinite now in S. Cal. I did give my Wisconsinite father a sugar maple for his yard in Vancouver, WA. Thanks for this video , I did forward it to Twitter and Facebook. David Baumgartner of the Milwaukee and Mayville Baumgartners.
Appreciated indeed. Thankyou for letting me know you had posted it. Hoping this trying year isn’t affecting your enviable lifestyle too badly. Stay safe and well.
I am back in the UK after living in the United States for most of my adult life. I spent the last 16 years in Maine… I’ve been hearing from friends that the sap is starting to run and I was feeling nostalgic. So nice to see this, he seems like such a very nice man.
Thank you for your kind words. I'll pass this along to Cy. You are correct is assuming he is a nice man...quite the story teller too. I think you might enjoy this video I made of him last year...th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Best vid on syrup hands down. I tap about 40 or so and love your setup. Mine is very rudement but I do have an auto feed which is beneficial as it doesn't stop the boil as it adds. Thanks my friend, really enjoyed your story telling and instructional guidance. You sound like a good guy, I hope you know our Father.
Thank you so much for making this! I just sat and watched it with my 5 year old and he loved it! So excited to see how it's made. We are from the UK and live in DC so I'm just gutted we may never live anywhere to make it ourselves. Thanks again!
Also forgot to add, that cy should be congratulated on how clean his sugar shack looks compared to the other videos I have seen and also he doesn't have any pets wondering in and out of the process. I feel he has a very sterile ,for lack of better terms, sugaring process.
This man is amazing! I'm not really into making maple syrup, was only looking for a video explaining the process, but glad I found this one. Great video! Great knowledge! Glad this video was shared for all to see! Thanks!
I have mixed emotions about this...thrilled to find such a valuable lesson and able to enjoy such a lovely paused and proud instruction filled with family tradition. Yet, sad because men like this, who had more integrity and propriety in one thumbnail than what others have in their entire body may be an endangered specie. I hope not, but agreeable persons like him are slowly fading away. I was lucky to be well raised and found men like him who mentored and served as good examples. Nonetheless, 20 virtual minutes with this gentleman and I already discovered that I am at a loss for not being able to make his acquaintance. I hope his children and grandchildren live nearby. It would be dreadful to have a grandfather like this and not be able to rejoice in his society. Mr. Lepak is certainly a treasure and perhaps one of his heirs will capture the pride and joy he displays creating his masterpiece and perpetuate the family tradition. God has been good to him and rightly so, it is evident he deserves all the blessings.
This is so fascinating to see the work and care to detail it takes to make a quality product. As with all things, the handmade stuff is so much better. Thank you for sharing this with us!!
FANTASTIC video. Your passion is evident and your video so informative and we'll delivered. I had a flash in my mind and thought I'd see how maple syrup was produced and happened upon your video. exactly what I was looking for so thank you for your passion and time to make it available. Very much appreciated.
Cy, I could listen to you all day. I've just gotten interested in syruping way down in Southeast Missouri and tapped a few trees this year; yielded 44oz of tasty syrup. Looking forward to a little more and a better product next year.
Wow! thank you for sharing, you are amazing and I would buy one hundred times your old fashion making syrup over factory, thanks again and way to go : )
Thank you for the wonderful video. If I were to do maple syrup from start to finish...I’d do it exactly like this gentleman. Our ancestors really knew a lot - the sound of a bird to a black walnut spigot - Even love the recliners in the sugar shack - Again, well done
You’re a special guy and have a special operation. I wish more Americans could go back to a simpler life by using the land and good ole hard work. Makes your product much more meaningful and enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed your video. The reason I found your video is I’m thinking about tapping 2 huge sugar maples in my yard and I’m researching so I do it correctly. I live in a suburb 20 miles east of Cincinnati so “living off the land” is not fully realistic but I’m determined to do what I can. But I do plant a large garden, raise blackberries, blueberries, and mulberries and am getting ready to plant apple and pear trees. The climate of the nation right now and the quality of the food and prices have really disturbed me and I’ve started doing this small scaled prepping movement. My dream is to move out into the country but I have to work with what I have for now. As far as the tapping, the only issue I have is it’s almost April and I think I’m a little late to the show. lol 😂 God Bless Brother.
Well done video and appreciate your tribute at the end. I will be getting into this on a smaller scale due to the passing of my maple syrup neighbor that use to tap my trees. Thanks you for sharing.
Hi Uncle Cy! It’s Chloe Yeager from California (Sharie’s daughter). hope everything’s going well :) was just doing a project for my ap environmental science class and i was having to talk about the production of an ingredient and it’s environmental impact and i used your syrup. hope we can come out and visit you guys soon when covid is over. love you!
This is just inspirational. I can feel the passion of Mr. Lepak, with the way he was explaining each minute details of crafting a wonderful Maple Syrup. His knowledge on the subject is at par the excellence. Thanks for making this very informative video. This is really very helpful for people like me who want to keep ourselves educated on the old fashioned crafting of world renowned Maple syrup. I sincerely hope that someday in future I'll bother you with a visit to your place to learn more about it. Till then, love from India!
A really wonderful video. I learned a lot. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into making maple syrup. I wish I was a member of his family so I could try his delicious looking syrup ;).
we have sand hill cranes in florida. was funny to hear that on the video. I am really enjoying watching the process, my family are from Canada but I have not been there since I was four. miss it. thanks for making this.
Those Kids, Grandkids, and Neighbors are blessed to have such a passionate outdoorsman. If you ever want to send some this way I’d include a self addressed package.
Great video; informative and helpful to a novice like myself. Plus the history and methods of the past were interesting to hear. I'll use some of the tips when cooking down my first batch. Cheers from across the lake in Grand Rapids.
@@theacornmama hello and thank you! Great video. The first shot looks a little like our farm near Ottawa Ontario. We only tapped 24 of our trees but ended up finishing 50 liters of syrup over our season! Maybe I'll need to make a video of the kids helping collect and boil (4 and 6 years old now). Thanks!
I was thinking the same thing. Way overtapping those trees. Wow I can't believe anyone would think that is good for those trees over time. Way overtapped by any standards.
Here is Cy's response to your tapping concern... "A commercial producer visits me at the beginning of each season to commiserate and share stories about farming, steam engines, and the wonderful smell of draft horses. This man scolds me about over tapping as well. I tapped the same trees the first 16 years of sugaring, then acquired another maple forest so that now I tap each tree no more than once every five years. During 48 years of syruping I have lost only one sugar maple. Its top was broken off in a storm. I salvaged the trunk and rendered it into lumber with which I built two blanket chests, one for a bride, and one for my brother/helper, showing the tap holes. A wood carver created several exquisitely beautiful bowls with the tap holes as well. I saw a sugar maple in Vermont with 24 taps in its circumference that had been tapped for two centuries. I assumed the owner was just showing off."
The the sap is actually pushed down during the day and it comes back up at night to serve as an antifreeze for the tree. The carbon dioxide bubbles in the tree make pressure when its warms up. And when the pressure is greater then the barometric pressure outside it drips out of the hole.
Umm....nice try but not exactly. When the trees freeze they actually create a 10 inhg vacuum in the tree bringing sap into the trunk. When the temp goes above 32 degrees they actually create up to 25 psi of pressure and push the sap out of the tree through any hole or crack. You may want to do some more research at Procters website or at the University of Vermont's maple page.
Here is Cy's response: “Thanks! We’ve been sapping for only 49 years. You’re into your new season already, - we’re tunneling through snow and keeping snowshoes handy. I keep a journal, and each season is different. No exception this year.”
At 4:06 there appears to be 8 or more taps in that one maple tree. That is significantly more the the recommended amount for the longevity of a tree of that size as it steals to much nutrients and also damages the trees to much. Other then over aggressive tapping of the trees I really enjoyed this video it is very well made.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Here is Cy's response to your tapping concern... "A commercial producer visits me at the beginning of each season to commiserate and share stories about farming, steam engines, and the wonderful smell of draft horses. This man scolds me about over tapping as well. I tapped the same trees the first 16 years of sugaring, then acquired another maple forest so that now I tap each tree no more than once every five years. During 48 years of syruping I have lost only one sugar maple. Its top was broken off in a storm. I salvaged the trunk and rendered it into lumber with which I built two blanket chests, one for a bride, and one for my brother/helper, showing the tap holes. A wood carver created several exquisitely beautiful bowls with the tap holes as well. I saw a sugar maple in Vermont with 24 taps in its circumference that had been tapped for two centuries. I assumed the owner was just showing off."
You really should not have more than two buckets on a tree, maximum. The second tap should not be added until the tree is more than 48" around 36" up from the ground.
@@theacornmama Late 70's Upstate NY at the foothills of the Adirondacks, my Grandfather and us 3 kids tapping a handful of trees, just enough to have for our own family. Slowly making our way with our little orange 3 wheel Allis, an old pickup bed trailer in tow. I miss those days, thanks for the message, I DID enjoy that very much.
Most informative video that I've seen on maple sugaring. I'm a former Minnesota native and I was about to do that one year with the neighbor but my parents moved out here to Washton state and I was still underage so I move with them. I wish I would've had the experience to do that I was looking forward to it. Don't worry about these keyboard commando's everybody's got their philosophy and they all think they're right. I'm a beekeeper and I've had guys challenging me on things that they thought they knew was right. Keep up the good work, if I am ever back there in the spring time you got some free labor if you need it. Take care and thanks for the video.
If you're no longer native to Minnesota, how did you become a native somewhere else? Hehe. Just do what I'm doing. Start your own orchard and wait 15 years. :D
Let me get this straight, you just gave us the inside hook to some secret squirrel works, enticed us with sweetness, told us it isn't for sale, and sent us on our way? K, point made, we tapped our trees today, sap is flowing,, so now it's time to figure out how he made that awesome stove! Cheers thank you for getting Mr. Lepak to do this! It's like FireFox books in video!
Here is an offer I'll create a label for you so that you can present your product to your family and friends to polish off such effort in exchange for a bottle of your masterpiece. Take care and thank you again for a wonderful to the point and we'll presented video.
Excellent video. Awesome hobby you can pass to your next generation. A Supersplit log splitter may help speed up your process in getting wood to wrist size.
Very well done video -- enjoyable to watch! (Note: I'm a relative newbie to it but you seem to be using more taps per tree than some of the experts recommend.)
BEES!!!! You my sir are exactly what I want to do with my life. My family's goal, well wife and I, kids have no choice when they come, is to be basically self sufficient. Bees, hunting, farming, and anything else we can do.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. What brand of filter press are you using? I tap 60 trees and the difficult process I find is the filtering process. I am in Ontario Canada and would like to check out some small presses like you have.
Here is Cy's response: "I had shared a hand operated filter press with another family syrup producer. The pump membrane failed every two years. So, I purchased an electric powered filter press from WES FAB, 14420 N. 12th Ave., Merrill, WI 54452, Phone: 715-536-0501. It was costly ($1,300.00). It is fast, and it hasn’t failed. Roth’s Sugar Bush, 656 Tower Drive, Cadott, WI. 54727, Phone: 717-289-3820, a maple syrup equipment and supply house, sells stainless steel filters of various capacities from $1,400 to $2,400. When I started my family operation with milk jugs, oil cans, and ice cream pails I had used a wool stocking to filter the syrup. The kids never complained about the small amount of sediment on the bottom of the syrup bottle. I use 480 spiles."
Hello awesome video, I love seeing the old ways not the way it's done today commercially. I have a couple of questions I think I have 4-5 maple trees on my property, thought I had 6 but with your description of a red maple I have one with the buds. Was wondering if that's enough to make a couple quarts of syrup. How do you know how many taps per tree, how much sap will I get per day on average, and how long can I keep the sap, or can I get boil it to kill bacteria and refrigerate it until I have enough to make a batch of syrup, cause I hear it's a 40:1 ratio, so I doubt I'll be getting 20 gallons in a day, I figured maybe a gallon per tap. So with only 5 trees id need a few days a sap to make it worth running a batch. This is only for my personal use so I'd be happy getting 3-4 quarts. Thanks for your time any info would be awesome and if you have an email that I maybe could send pictures of my trees to confirm that they are the right ones.
+Derek Droc Sorry for the delay in response, I have been away from internet. Here is Cy's response..."red maples do produce sap that is 1 - 1& 1/2 percent sugar (our's may be 3 - 5%), therefore the ratio would be 50:1. The syrup is sweet but tastes somewhat different. About one gallon per spile on a good flow day. Freezing after boiling the sap is fine. Small batches are hard to manage. Boiling sap in the house makes everything sticky. (Therefore, boil outside on cookstove or fire.) Try it and be creative about how. Discovery is the joy!" There are lots of other youtubes that might offer advice on the 'backyard' sapper.
Julie Brown . Julie, can u tell me what kind of jars he is using? mom and dad have always use the canning process for the syrup in a pressure pot, this gentleman looks like he just poured into a glass jar with a probably might guess his of Steel lid?
Cy uses 'Snapple' bottles. They are washed well. The hot filtered syrup is added to the bottles and the cover will 'pop' and reseal the bottle. Occasionally, one fails to pop and is kept in the refrigerator and used first.
If you cook your syrup down to the red line Or 32% on the tester, you do not need to can it, just put it in the jars hot and it will seal and stay preserved
I remember years ago reading about how this was done it was fun to see the actual process. Although I believe the story I read they were still using horses! There is a John Ringo book, "Live Free or Die, maple syrup becomes worth a lot of money because to a race of aliens in is like alcohol, and the guy who discoverers it becomes known as the Maple Syrup King
Great video! I loved it! I especially liked you showing your grandfather's hand made tap. Do all the diatom shells get filtered out of the syrup? I know that diatom shells are in tooth paste. I also love that stove you have and your whole operation and your incredible knowledge about it. It's very special!
Here is Cy's response: "Yes, all the diatom material is filtered. It is captured by the paper fiber network that acts as a foundation for the diatom shells to arrange as a solid film, which is discarded with the paper filter in my compost bin. The cutworms hate crawling across my composted garden soil."
Great video thanks for taking the time... just bought into a farm site with a sap tree forest we call Manitoba Maple which traditionally produces nice syrup...hope to be at it in the spring....love that he gives it to his family... a wonderful passage about nourishment in an amazing book called the iching states: "If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates"
Thanks SO much for your lovely reply. Your quote is perfect for Cy! I will pass this along to him. Again...sincere thanks!
I just read the full quote...wonderful..."Nurture others in need, as if you were feeding yourself.
Take care not to provide sustenance for those who feed off others. In bestowing care and nourishment, it is important that the right people should be taken care of and that we should attend to our own nourishment in the right way. If we wish to know what anyone is like, we have only to observe on whom he bestows his care and what sides of his own nature he cultivates and nourishes."
@@theacornmama Cy has a gift to relay good honest experience and it's priceless.and the video is top notch! I have produced music videos and it's not an easy undertaking....thanks again these kind of videos are so important when they provide decades of experience without trying to sell something truly what the internet is for...take care...
@@joweger4852 I only just saw your beautiful comments...thank you...we are soon to start another season with Cy.
Thank you so much for this lovely video... The greatest thing I have heard is when this gentleman said "I don't sale syrup, I'm sharing with neighbors, visitors, children and grand children" Respect!
Mr. Lepak, this is the best, most detailed explanation of how maple syrup is made that I have ever seen in my brief 74 years.Thank you and good health going forward to you and yours.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
This is amazing! I love how this craft has been passed down in the family to be enjoyed by future generations. This fellow is exceptional at making maple syrup and is very inspiring to watch.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Friends and I have recently started maple tapping. This by far is the most enjoyable video I've watched. It's educational, informational and in a way, nostalgic. Thank you!
Thanks for your kind words!
If you just started please don't tap your trees like that. Please get better information.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
@@johomerza Everywhere we go in life we run into guys like you who have to cast shade on the sunshine. Make your own video.
What a great video Grandpa & Julie!
🌳🍁🥞🍁🌳
This video was brilliant. You can tell Mr Lepak has been doing this since he was a young boy. Very very knowledgeable. My operation is small but I keep adding to it every year, slowly but surely I'll have it to where I want it to be. My retirement will be in a few years and my plan is to be able to make enough to cover costs and like Mr Lepak I will give it to my family and friends. I just want to be out on my land enjoying what I worked for all these years. I would love to be able to help out for free for a season just to listen to Mr Lepak's wisdom. I bet he has a million stories and an abundance of life lessons to share. Bravo Mr Lepak, you're one in a million Sir!
What a lovely comment to read. I will pass this along to Cy....He does indeed have a million stories to share!
@@theacornmama Thank you. Tell Mr Lepak my name is Tony and I'm from Ontario Canada. Much love and respect to you all.
Good morning Anthony- I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Old school teaching... lost ways; thank you for sharing
Julie, I have watched this before, but always enjoy watching it again. Thank you for the tribute to "Grandpa Dan"! He SO loved coming up to Cumberland to do this. One of his favorite things to do every year.
Thanks so much! We just tapped trees the past two days, but I don't think the real flow will start until later this week. It was an honor to meet Dan. We always think of him during sapping season and miss his calm presence.
I like how he knows about the sandhill cranes and when the owls nest ect....
Just wanted to let you know that I stopped by again today to watch my favorite video on TH-cam. I share it as much as I can. "That's a Sandhill Crane." - Favorite part. Thanks Julie.
Thanks so much! What a great compliment. Yes, that's a great line. Have you watched the companion video of Cy reading a poem about sapping? "Come! We're Making Maple Syrup"
@
th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
mouth watering the whole video...only to find out he doesn't sell any...sure would LOVE to be his grandson while during ANY of the work being done just to be able to have a bottle or two.
great video! thank you very much for sharing all of your experience!
thanks, Dwayne!
Raven Michael James LaRocque weird and a bad speller. Didn’t even spell butt right
I looked on the map(as I live in Wi) just before I heard him say he didn't sell any. So I said to my self "I guess I'm not going to Cumberland.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
My 3-year old daughter just spent the entire 19+ minutes on my lap fixated on both the videos and his voice. I am so thankful to have watched this, and that you took the time to share in your knowledge and passion. It truly was a beautiful experience! (From Stouffville, Ontario, Canada).
Thank you so much for taking the time to send this wonderful note! Cy will be so happy to hear this message and I appreciate your kind words.
This was so fun to watch. Cy was one of my catechism teachers. It was especially wonderful to see his daughter, Vicki, in the video. She was one of my classmates. Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you, John! I'll pass this along to Cy and Viki. We are looking forward to the start of another sap season soon!
I love the “old” setup and do notice a huge difference in flavour. Thank you for the video ❤️🌸
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing this beautiful tradition with the rest of us. I certainly would love to meet these fine folks during the sapping season sometime.
Old School is a science that’s easily soon to be a lost art. Thanks for sharing. Love the video.
Great great video, I'm liking the old ways of doing things more and more. Thank You Sir for giving knowledge freely.
This man is a TREASURE ! He makes his maple syrup with love, enjoyment, art from one to another generation and he s proud to keep it real and natural, he is not desperate to make it commercially !!!!This man is a TREASURE!!!!!! This video is educational but also help us to think about how he explained and sees mother nature! Thank you so much for your time!
What a lovely compliment! I'll pass it along to Cy!
Thanks! He is indeed a treasure!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Very knowledgeable and I hope you have family following your footsteps to keep that great tradition alive.
This is precious. Thank you for creating it. Being from MI and living in a state that cannot grow sugar maples, I miss these kinds of things. I was able to show this to my children and we even made maple snow candy today.
Thanks, Penelope! Definitely gives your kids a visual of times past.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
A lovely video,thankyou ....for your valuable time, showing us, who take bottles on a supermarket shelf for granted, all the effort and energy and knowledge that goes into producing maple syrup. So lovely also,to see your ‘at oneness’ with nature, listening and watching for the signs telling you the time is right. Thankyou again.
Thanks for the sweet reply. Cy is definitely in sync with nature....a man of the woods.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Daydreaming of a place "up north". This is a wonderful video. His passion comes through each step. Well-done Mr Lepak * * * * *
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so very much for the great lesson. It is people like you who take the time to pass on knowledge and history that keep the old arts and ways from being forgotten. If we don't pass on traditions and trades like this to those who show interest it truly is a shame. My wife and I purchased property in northern WI and this will be the first year I will attempt to harvest, boil, and bottle some syrup for my family and loved ones. Thank you again for not only teaching me about how to create syrup from mother nature but providing a some wonderful history about this tradition also.
Frank D.
Land O Lakes, WI
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
That was such an amazing and enjoyable video to watch.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks for the kind comment! I'll pass it along to Cy.
I am a Wisconsinite now in S. Cal. I did give my Wisconsinite father a sugar maple for his yard in Vancouver, WA. Thanks for this video , I did forward it to Twitter and Facebook. David Baumgartner of the Milwaukee and Mayville Baumgartners.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Appreciated indeed. Thankyou for letting me know you had posted it. Hoping this trying year isn’t affecting your enviable lifestyle too badly. Stay safe and well.
I am back in the UK after living in the United States for most of my adult life. I spent the last 16 years in Maine… I’ve been hearing from friends that the sap is starting to run and I was feeling nostalgic. So nice to see this, he seems like such a very nice man.
Thank you for your kind words. I'll pass this along to Cy. You are correct is assuming he is a nice man...quite the story teller too. I think you might enjoy this video I made of him last year...th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Best vid on syrup hands down. I tap about 40 or so and love your setup. Mine is very rudement but I do have an auto feed which is beneficial as it doesn't stop the boil as it adds. Thanks my friend, really enjoyed your story telling and instructional guidance. You sound like a good guy, I hope you know our Father.
Very enjoyable video. We need more people in the world like Mr. Lepak hard working enjoys nature and shares his wisdom and trade.
This is a great video. Thank you for taking the time to put this together.
Thanks for the kind words. We're looking forward to the start of another sapping season coming soon!
Thank you so much for making this! I just sat and watched it with my 5 year old and he loved it! So excited to see how it's made. We are from the UK and live in DC so I'm just gutted we may never live anywhere to make it ourselves. Thanks again!
You are most welcome! Thanks for the lovely note.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Also forgot to add, that cy should be congratulated on how clean his sugar shack looks compared to the other videos I have seen and also he doesn't have any pets wondering in and out of the process. I feel he has a very sterile ,for lack of better terms, sugaring process.
I'll pass your comment along to Cy...thanks!
You do know that syrup is boiled 7 degrees above boiling water, which makes it a sterile process from the start, but heh there's that.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
I loved this! He explains everything wonderfully and with passion. I love that he does it for the love of syrup! Fantastic!! Thank you for sharing!!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
This is such a useful video. Thank you for sharing. I’m from Thailand and we make palm and coconut syrup
I love your syrup
Out of every collecting and cooking video I've watched I've gotten the best information out of this one. Also so touching. R.I.P Dan
Thanks for your kind words.
What rip no wth that’s so sad
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
This man is amazing! I'm not really into making maple syrup, was only looking for a video explaining the process, but glad I found this one. Great video! Great knowledge! Glad this video was shared for all to see! Thanks!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Well done! Brings back a lot of memories. Parents used to have a very similar operation. About the same size. Lots of work!!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thanks so much for sharing this old school method !!!
I watched this process done on a field trip while growing up in Southern Ontario. Brought back memories
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge about maple syrup. I will be sharing this with my second graders.
Ms. Tracey
Thanks for your sweet reply. I will share it with Cy. He became a teacher later in life so carries a special fondness for educators. Best wishes!
I have mixed emotions about this...thrilled to find such a valuable lesson and able to enjoy such a lovely paused and proud instruction filled with family tradition. Yet, sad because men like this, who had more integrity and propriety in one thumbnail than what others have in their entire body may be an endangered specie. I hope not, but agreeable persons like him are slowly fading away. I was lucky to be well raised and found men like him who mentored and served as good examples. Nonetheless, 20 virtual minutes with this gentleman and I already discovered that I am at a loss for not being able to make his acquaintance.
I hope his children and grandchildren live nearby. It would be dreadful to have a grandfather like this and not be able to rejoice in his society.
Mr. Lepak is certainly a treasure and perhaps one of his heirs will capture the pride and joy he displays creating his masterpiece and perpetuate the family tradition. God has been good to him and rightly so, it is evident he deserves all the blessings.
Thank you for your wonderful comments. I passed them on to Cy...he is definitely a treasure! Cy is loved, admired and emulated by family and friends.
I love maple sugaring and Gods awesome sugar maple. Started doing it with grandpa when I was little. Still love it today the old fashioned way
This is so fascinating to see the work and care to detail it takes to make a quality product. As with all things, the handmade stuff is so much better. Thank you for sharing this with us!!
Fantastic host in this video! Would love to hear more of his stories!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Always love coming back to this video i am ready for sap season 2022
FANTASTIC video. Your passion is evident and your video so informative and we'll delivered. I had a flash in my mind and thought I'd see how maple syrup was produced and happened upon your video. exactly what I was looking for so thank you for your passion and time to make it available. Very much appreciated.
Thanks for the nice feedback...much appreciated!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Great video. Very interesting to see the whole process, start to finish. Thanks for sharing.
I want more than anything to try some of this syrup! Thanks for sharing this sweet video.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Cy, I could listen to you all day. I've just gotten interested in syruping way down in Southeast Missouri and tapped a few trees this year; yielded 44oz of tasty syrup. Looking forward to a little more and a better product next year.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Wow! thank you for sharing, you are amazing and I would buy one hundred times your old fashion making syrup over factory, thanks again and way to go : )
Thank you for the wonderful video. If I were to do maple syrup from start to finish...I’d do it exactly like this gentleman. Our ancestors really knew a lot - the sound of a bird to a black walnut spigot - Even love the recliners in the sugar shack - Again, well done
Thanks, Jeff! This is my favorite reply so far!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Very nice video. Really enjoyed watching the master, Cy, at work.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
You’re a special guy and have a special operation. I wish more Americans could go back to a simpler life by using the land and good ole hard work. Makes your product much more meaningful and enjoyable. I thoroughly enjoyed your video. The reason I found your video is I’m thinking about tapping 2 huge sugar maples in my yard and I’m researching so I do it correctly. I live in a suburb 20 miles east of Cincinnati so “living off the land” is not fully realistic but I’m determined to do what I can. But I do plant a large garden, raise blackberries, blueberries, and mulberries and am getting ready to plant apple and pear trees. The climate of the nation right now and the quality of the food and prices have really disturbed me and I’ve started doing this small scaled prepping movement. My dream is to move out into the country but I have to work with what I have for now. As far as the tapping, the only issue I have is it’s almost April and I think I’m a little late to the show. lol 😂 God Bless Brother.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for sharing love hearing your past memories...
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Well done video and appreciate your tribute at the end. I will be getting into this on a smaller scale due to the passing of my maple syrup neighbor that use to tap my trees. Thanks you for sharing.
Glad you enjoyed the video. We have been lucky to experience and learn the process with Cy for 8 years.
Hi Uncle Cy! It’s Chloe Yeager from California (Sharie’s daughter). hope everything’s going well :) was just doing a project for my ap environmental science class and i was having to talk about the production of an ingredient and it’s environmental impact and i used your syrup. hope we can come out and visit you guys soon when covid is over. love you!
I will certainly pass this along to Cy!
This is just inspirational. I can feel the passion of Mr. Lepak, with the way he was explaining each minute details of crafting a wonderful Maple Syrup. His knowledge on the subject is at par the excellence. Thanks for making this very informative video. This is really very helpful for people like me who want to keep ourselves educated on the old fashioned crafting of world renowned Maple syrup. I sincerely hope that someday in future I'll bother you with a visit to your place to learn more about it. Till then, love from India!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
@@theacornmama Sure, I'll love to watch this. Thanks for sharing Julie!
Great video. Thank you for sharing
Thank you kindly!
A really wonderful video. I learned a lot. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into making maple syrup. I wish I was a member of his family so I could try his delicious looking syrup ;).
we have sand hill cranes in florida. was funny to hear that on the video. I am really enjoying watching the process,
my family are from Canada but I have not been there since I was four. miss it. thanks for making this.
thank you for the video we enjoyed watching it my son and I . We never had Maple syrup homemade and made with so much love, I bet it taste real good
Those Kids, Grandkids, and Neighbors are blessed to have such a passionate outdoorsman. If you ever want to send some this way I’d include a self addressed package.
They are blessed and we are so lucky to have him for our neighbor! Thanks for the sweet comment!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
A very nicely done documentary. Thanks for making it.
Great video; informative and helpful to a novice like myself. Plus the history and methods of the past were interesting to hear. I'll use some of the tips when cooking down my first batch. Cheers from across the lake in Grand Rapids.
Thanks, Mike! Hope you have a great sap season!
Beautiful video. You're love for your family shows in your passion for syrup making.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
@@theacornmama hello and thank you! Great video. The first shot looks a little like our farm near Ottawa Ontario. We only tapped 24 of our trees but ended up finishing 50 liters of syrup over our season! Maybe I'll need to make a video of the kids helping collect and boil (4 and 6 years old now). Thanks!
Cool video.
I tap the Silver Maple in my yard and I am impressed by how much sap I've gotten so far.
thank you for sharing!
Great video! Gave me some ideas to change things up a little this boiling season. Nice work!
Thanks, Chris!
I’ve sugared my whole life I’ve never seen anyone tap trees like that.
I give those trees about 20 years max...but they might survive who knows
I was thinking the same thing. Way overtapping those trees. Wow I can't believe anyone would think that is good for those trees over time. Way overtapped by any standards.
Agreed
Here is Cy's response to your tapping concern...
"A commercial producer visits me at the beginning of each season to commiserate and share stories about farming, steam engines, and the wonderful smell of draft horses. This man scolds me about over tapping as well. I tapped the same trees the first 16 years of sugaring, then acquired another maple forest so that now I tap each tree no more than once every five years. During 48 years of syruping I have lost only one sugar maple. Its top was broken off in a storm. I salvaged the trunk and rendered it into lumber with which I built two blanket chests, one for a bride, and one for my brother/helper, showing the tap holes. A wood carver created several exquisitely beautiful bowls with the tap holes as well. I saw a sugar maple in Vermont with 24 taps in its circumference that had been tapped for two centuries. I assumed the owner was just showing off."
That is some good ole hard working style syrup. Very nice video. Thank you
I could listen to this man speak for days...
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
The the sap is actually pushed down during the day and it comes back up at night to serve as an antifreeze for the tree. The carbon dioxide bubbles in the tree make pressure when its warms up. And when the pressure is greater then the barometric pressure outside it drips out of the hole.
Umm....nice try but not exactly. When the trees freeze they actually create a 10 inhg vacuum in the tree bringing sap into the trunk. When the temp goes above 32 degrees they actually create up to 25 psi of pressure and push the sap out of the tree through any hole or crack. You may want to do some more research at Procters website or at the University of Vermont's maple page.
Best syrup I have ever had. Bless you
Great video. Were in our 2nd week of maple season in Ohio. Been a family tradition for over 50 years now.
Here is Cy's response: “Thanks! We’ve been sapping for only 49 years. You’re into your new season already, - we’re tunneling through snow and keeping snowshoes handy. I keep a journal, and each season is different. No exception this year.”
At 4:06 there appears to be 8 or more taps in that one maple tree. That is significantly more the the recommended amount for the longevity of a tree of that size as it steals to much nutrients and also damages the trees to much. Other then over aggressive tapping of the trees I really enjoyed this video it is very well made.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Here is Cy's response to your tapping concern...
"A commercial producer visits me at the beginning of each season to commiserate and share stories about farming, steam engines, and the wonderful smell of draft horses. This man scolds me about over tapping as well. I tapped the same trees the first 16 years of sugaring, then acquired another maple forest so that now I tap each tree no more than once every five years. During 48 years of syruping I have lost only one sugar maple. Its top was broken off in a storm. I salvaged the trunk and rendered it into lumber with which I built two blanket chests, one for a bride, and one for my brother/helper, showing the tap holes. A wood carver created several exquisitely beautiful bowls with the tap holes as well. I saw a sugar maple in Vermont with 24 taps in its circumference that had been tapped for two centuries. I assumed the owner was just showing off."
Amazing! I love it that he learnt from his mom too.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Good documentary 👍
Didn't know you could have more the one bucket per tree?
Very interesting👍😏
You really should not have more than two buckets on a tree, maximum. The second tap should not be added until the tree is more than 48" around 36" up from the ground.
All I want to do is sit in that building on one of those chairs, listen to the fire, smell the sap boil, and read a good book.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
@@theacornmama Late 70's Upstate NY at the foothills of the Adirondacks, my Grandfather and us 3 kids tapping a handful of trees, just enough to have for our own family. Slowly making our way with our little orange 3 wheel Allis, an old pickup bed trailer in tow. I miss those days, thanks for the message, I DID enjoy that very much.
this is really well done video. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks
Glad you enjoyed watching. Good thing I'm not trying to make it this year. Terrible spring weather and poor sap season here in NW Wisconsin.
Thats a shame, hopefully you'll get better weather next year
Know I even more interested of Maple tress, keep up the good work!
Most informative video that I've seen on maple sugaring. I'm a former Minnesota native and I was about to do that one year with the neighbor but my parents moved out here to Washton state and I was still underage so I move with them. I wish I would've had the experience to do that I was looking forward to it.
Don't worry about these keyboard commando's everybody's got their philosophy and they all think they're right. I'm a beekeeper and I've had guys challenging me on things that they thought they knew was right. Keep up the good work, if I am ever back there in the spring time you got some free labor if you need it. Take care and thanks for the video.
Thanks for your comment. I hope you have a chance to witness the process sometime.
Julie Brown
Are you related to cy?
Cy is our neighbor.
If you're no longer native to Minnesota, how did you become a native somewhere else? Hehe. Just do what I'm doing. Start your own orchard and wait 15 years. :D
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the maple sap documentary...! Nice :)
Thanks, Dimitry!
Wellcome to my Bigboobsville G+... ! ... a Joke! but ...You are Great ! :-)
Love this video. Would love to meet him.
Thank you so much for showing us how to make maple syrup the old fashioned way (the best way)
You are most welcome, Karen!
In comparison to the new way? Can someone tell me what has changed that the old way is so much better?
Very interesting to see this! Thanks for sharing!
Let me get this straight, you just gave us the inside hook to some secret squirrel works, enticed us with sweetness, told us it isn't for sale, and sent us on our way? K, point made, we tapped our trees today, sap is flowing,, so now it's time to figure out how he made that awesome stove! Cheers thank you for getting Mr. Lepak to do this! It's like FireFox books in video!
Damn auto correct, FoxFire, Foxfire, long before FireFox was even thought of!
Thanks for your reply, Jason! Good luck!
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
I love this. Thank you for sharing!
I would love to try this. Only maple syrup I've ever tasted is from McDonald's. I'm from the uk so they never sell this. I love what you do
Beautiful video
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing the awesome video..Would you be able to send a bottle to Sydney Australia?
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Shipping just in the US is over $15 for a pint. AUSTRALIA would be close to $30 :(
The Amish here really get into this... I love it.. In fact, my grandfather helped do it in the mid 1930s...
Here is an offer I'll create a label for you so that you can present your product to your family and friends to polish off such effort in exchange for a bottle of your masterpiece. Take care and thank you again for a wonderful to the point and we'll presented video.
VisualFX Wiz I’ll take you up on that offer if you’re still interested....
I can definitely help you make a label, if he never responds... ;)
@@Melinacabin same
GodBlessHipHop lol I responded 😊
great video, he is a great teacher! wealth of knowledge :)
Excellent video. Awesome hobby you can pass to your next generation. A Supersplit log splitter may help speed up your process in getting wood to wrist size.
Cy has passed this on to three generations...at 83 he hand splits ALL the wood!
Way tougher than I!!
Very well done video -- enjoyable to watch! (Note: I'm a relative newbie to it but you seem to be using more taps per tree than some of the experts recommend.)
Cy has sufficient acreage of maple trees so only taps a individual tree every 5-8 years. He has never lost a tree from stress.
Julie Brown Good to know! Thanks, and again nice work on the video.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html
BEES!!!! You my sir are exactly what I want to do with my life. My family's goal, well wife and I, kids have no choice when they come, is to be basically self sufficient. Bees, hunting, farming, and anything else we can do.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. What brand of filter press are you using? I tap 60 trees and the difficult process I find is the filtering process. I am in Ontario Canada and would like to check out some small presses like you have.
Here is Cy's response: "I had shared a hand operated filter press with another family syrup producer. The pump membrane failed every two years. So, I purchased an electric powered filter press from WES FAB, 14420 N. 12th Ave., Merrill, WI 54452, Phone: 715-536-0501. It was costly ($1,300.00). It is fast, and it hasn’t failed. Roth’s Sugar Bush, 656 Tower Drive, Cadott, WI. 54727, Phone: 717-289-3820, a maple syrup equipment and supply house, sells stainless steel filters of various capacities from $1,400 to $2,400.
When I started my family operation with milk jugs, oil cans, and ice cream pails I had used a wool stocking to filter the syrup. The kids never complained about the small amount of sediment on the bottom of the syrup bottle. I use 480 spiles."
Thank you for the follow up! I’ll have to look up some suppliers here in Ontario Canada for pricing
Hello awesome video, I love seeing the old ways not the way it's done today commercially. I have a couple of questions I think I have 4-5 maple trees on my property, thought I had 6 but with your description of a red maple I have one with the buds. Was wondering if that's enough to make a couple quarts of syrup. How do you know how many taps per tree, how much sap will I get per day on average, and how long can I keep the sap, or can I get boil it to kill bacteria and refrigerate it until I have enough to make a batch of syrup, cause I hear it's a 40:1 ratio, so I doubt I'll be getting 20 gallons in a day, I figured maybe a gallon per tap. So with only 5 trees id need a few days a sap to make it worth running a batch. This is only for my personal use so I'd be happy getting 3-4 quarts. Thanks for your time any info would be awesome and if you have an email that I maybe could send pictures of my trees to confirm that they are the right ones.
+Derek Droc
Sorry for the delay in response, I have been away from internet. Here is Cy's response..."red maples do produce sap that is 1 - 1& 1/2 percent sugar (our's may be 3 - 5%), therefore the ratio would be 50:1. The syrup is sweet but tastes somewhat different. About one gallon per spile on a good flow day. Freezing after boiling the sap is fine. Small batches are hard to manage. Boiling sap in the house makes everything sticky. (Therefore, boil outside on cookstove or fire.) Try it and be creative about how. Discovery is the joy!"
There are lots of other youtubes that might offer advice on the 'backyard' sapper.
I make 2-3 gallons of syrup each year tapping only red and silver maples.
Julie Brown . Julie, can u tell me what kind of jars he is using? mom and dad have always use the canning process for the syrup in a pressure pot, this gentleman looks like he just poured into a glass jar with a probably might guess his of Steel lid?
Cy uses 'Snapple' bottles. They are washed well. The hot filtered syrup is added to the bottles and the cover will 'pop' and reseal the bottle. Occasionally, one fails to pop and is kept in the refrigerator and used first.
If you cook your syrup down to the red line Or 32% on the tester, you do not need to can it, just put it in the jars hot and it will seal and stay preserved
I remember years ago reading about how this was done it was fun to see the actual process. Although I believe the story I read they were still using horses!
There is a John Ringo book, "Live Free or Die, maple syrup becomes worth a lot of money because to a race of aliens in is like alcohol, and the guy who discoverers it becomes known as the Maple Syrup King
Great video! I loved it! I especially liked you showing your grandfather's hand made tap. Do all the diatom shells get filtered out of the syrup? I know that diatom shells are in tooth paste. I also love that stove you have and your whole operation and your incredible knowledge about it. It's very special!
Here is Cy's response: "Yes, all the diatom material is filtered. It is captured by the paper fiber network that acts as a foundation for the diatom shells to arrange as a solid film, which is discarded with the paper filter in my compost bin. The cutworms hate crawling across my composted garden soil."
@@theacornmama hahahaha Thanks! That's funny.
I just published another video with Cy that I think you'll appreciate. th-cam.com/video/anjTeQ7vVxc/w-d-xo.html