Every year about this time, you’ll see those telltale blue bags hanging off of maple trees around the Old Mission Peninsula. It’s a sure sign that Spring is near, because those bags are what hold the sap that’s eventually turned into maple syrup.
I noticed the bags in the woods near Old Mission Peninsula School a few days ago, when I was up there taking pics of Lani, the Reading Dog (story forthcoming!). The sap from these bags is turned into maple syrup by Old Mission Maple, owned by Jeremiah and Tanya Warren. Check out their Facebook page here.
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During the warmer months, you’ll find their maple products at the Warrens’ “Between the Bays” farm stands, 2705 Island View Road and 8169 Center Road, along with other fruits and veggies in season. And throughout the year, Jeremiah and Tanya sell their maple products at the Grand Traverse Commons’ indoor farm market – check out the location and current hours here.
Here’s a pic of some of their finished maple products at the Commons – maple syrup, maple cream, sugar, candy and more. Their maple cream on a piece of sourdough toast is out of this world.
When I went back to the school to take pics that day, I noticed a bunch of kids in the woods and discovered that Jeremiah (“Farmer Warren” to the kids) was helping some OMPS students hang bags with their names on them. Reegan happily let me take a picture of her with her maple sap bag.
I loved seeing the kids crowd around Jeremiah like the maple syrup rockstar he is. He carefully explained the process of drilling a hole in the tree, putting a “spile” in (the spout or spigot), hanging the bag and waiting for it to fill up with sap. He is SO GOOD with those kids.
As I understand it, when he gets ready to boil down the sap to make syrup, the kids get to come over to his shop and learn more about that part of it. Here are more pics from the fun afternoon.
Also Read…
[…] Earlier this week, I wrote about how Jeremiah Warren is teaching the kids at Old Mission Peninsula School all about making maple syrup. The kids even get to hang their own sap bags on the trees in the woods near the school. Read all about that and see photos here. […]
[…] a pic from the OMPS Facebook page, and check out some Gazette pics from last year here and here. And of course, you can buy all sorts of maple syrup products from the Warren’s […]