How Much Can You Get From a Batch of Home-Made Maple Syrup?

I think I found the perfect job! For one month of the year, I get to sit around and poke sticks into a campfire every other afternoon. At the end of the month, I'll have (hopefully) a few gallons of maple syrup to show for all my "hard work". Sweet reward for something most of us do for relaxation! Of course, as my husband likes to point out, my per hour monetary compensation isn't even up to minimum wage (one pint of syrup goes for around $6 in our neck of the woods, and that's what I usually get for a four-hour stint at the campfire boiling down a five gallon bucket of sap), but since I don't really consider it working, I don't really care!

But my syrup output isn't the only reward for my "labor". I'm also counting this against a hypothetical gym membership, since I got plenty of exercise last fall gathering fallen sticks from the woods (squats, stretches, knee bends! And resistance walking pulling the sled full of sticks down to the garden!)

That's not all - I also decided that I'd burn the wood over a future garden bed. This will not only kill some grass (saving money on mulch!) but will also add wood ash and biochar, improving the nutrient profile in that garden bed, which will hopefully result in higher yields of more nutrient-dense vegetables this summer - saving money on fertilizer, food costs, and health care!

One more thing - just for fun, we made pudgie pies for supper over the fire (would that count for saving propane because I didn't cook in the house, or as a recreational expense, because we didn't have to rent a campsite?)

So even though my fiscal bottom line may not be up to the government's minimum wage, in my mind the time spent was well worth it. And home-made maple syrup really is a sweet reward!

(You can read more about my maple syrup adventures here, here, and here.)