Getting ready to tap Maple trees
In the back of our pick up truck we have sap buckets. The tools are a compact cordless drill with a 7/16th inch bit and a small hammer. Between them are the Quills which will be driven into the holes we drill in Sugar Maple trees. The Quills have a wire hook to hang the bucket on. There is no bail on a sap bucket. Only one small hole under the rim near the top. In some areas of the country Quills have different names such as tree spouts or spiles. I am very lucky that my kids have time to help collect and boil down sap this year. I used to help my father make Maple Syrup when I was a young girl. We do not use covers on our sap buckets. We just collect the sap late each day or before it rains. If rainfall is enough to really dilute the sap or something dirty gets in it we dump it on the ground.
