no maple? ok… NOW i am mad!

A little known secret about me… I L.O.V.E. maple.  

I don’t indulge often… I rarely eat pancakes, so no maple ingestion there.  I don’t eat donuts.. but back in the day I would jump for the maple eclairs.  Maple Oatmeal… all mine! And, I did once have a nasty habit for the maple frosted scones at Starbucks. (May I follow all of this up by saying… I didn’t know then, what I know now.)  When I find a recipe that is sweetened with the sugary tree juice, you can bet I try it.

That is why I was so disappointed to come across this article: All Tapped Out, via The Daily Climate.

 

All farming depends on the weather, but few foods are more dependent on a specific climate than maple syrup. After all, for the sugar maple’s sap to run at all requires cooperative weather — freezing nights followed by warmer days.

But with the build-up of invisible greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, those temperature swings don’t happen as reliably.  At risk is an American tradition that stretches back even before Europeans discovered the “New World.”

“Weather controls it all,” says Marty Fitzgerald, a fifth-generation sugarmaker in upstate New York.

And, in recent years, the weather has been weird.

What is most interesting about this article is the education I gained about how maple… er, sap… is extracted and produced into syrup.  Honestly, I was pretty surprised that it is $65 million per year industry.  

If you are slightly interested in syrup production and the effects from global warming and temperature shifts, this is a fun read.  If not, don’t read it… but be warned… imitation maple syrup may be close at hand.

treehugger

This is the time of year where thousands, maybe millions, of trees get cut down to celebrate. And, for what reason, most people don’t even know.

The Christmas Tree tradition started in Germany. Because of its shape, it was a symbol of the holy trinity; father, son, holy ghost. It became revered as God’s Tree. The tradition became fashionable after Queen Victoria, in 1846, took a photo with her family by a decorated tree. From that point on, the decorations of the tree became more important than the symbol of the tree, itself.

It is a shame that these trees are raised to be killed for folly. Many of them are filled with pesticides. And, in killing them, the ecosystems, even in Christmas tree farms, that have formed around them are destroyed.

This year, at least in California, it would be great to consider this:

THE LIVING CHRISTMAS COMPANY

It’s simple! You select the type and size of tree you’d like to adopt and we deliver it to your home for Christmas. The price includes delivery to your door before Christmas and pick up after. We will also hold a small deposit that will be refunded once your tree is safely returned.

You can keep your beautiful Living Christmas Tree for three weeks or so, after which, it becomes unhealthy for the tree to remain inside. You’ll need to select drop-off and pick-up times for your location, based on your availability and the good health of the tree. Even though you’ll still have to say goodbye to your tree, know that, instead of going out with the trash, it will be returned to the North Pole, so it can continue growing until next Christmas.

By renting your tree, it stays alive. It is returned at the end of the season and the company maintains it for the following year, when you can rent a tree again. I think this is GREAT. Prices, at this time, are a little higher than purchasing a dead tree. They are trying to make it as economical as possible. With growth and popularity, it will be!

If it isn’t too late, I would hope you all consider renting a tree this year.