When the winter is mild, the sap likely runs early.
This year, the precarious season started February 22 - about three weeks sooner than average.
"We knew it was going to start ahead of schedule because of the winter," said Terri-Lynn Shaw, owner of Shaw's Maple Syrup Bush in Oro-Medonte Township.
"It's the earliest we have made syrup in this sugar bush since 1904. It's the earliest we have ever tapped the trees."
Anticipating the early season, Tom Shaw got to work at the beginning of February, placing about 6,500 taps in 4,000 trees.
Already it has been an up and down season, with sap production being totally dependant on perfect weather - with temperatures dropping below zero at night and climbing to about 5C each day.
If nighttime temperatures hover at zero or higher, the sap dries up and a production day is lost.
"It's that fussy," Shaw said. "We need the cold nights."
So fussy that just a degree or two can for a few days in a row can be the end of another season.
"Too many warm nights really warm days and the trees will start to grow leaves," Shaw eplained. "As soon as they start budding, the sugar content in the sap drops to zero because it goes to leaf production.
"When that happens, we are done."
An average season lasts from mid-March until mid-April.
A maze of plastic tubing winds its way through the sugar bush from tree to tree, collecting thousands of litres of clear, sticky sap that will be boiled into light, medium and dark syrup.
It takes 40 litres of sap to produce one litre of "liquid gold".
School groups and families can learn about historic and modern maple sap collection and syrup production methods at Shaw's, located on the 14th Line of Oro-Medonte, about 15 minutes from Barrie.
Stop by the Pancake House for a plate of pancakes, sausages and fresh maple syrup and if the weather’s been “just right” the sap will be boiling in the evaporator, filling the air with the sweet smell of maple.
For more information and updates on the weather and sap collection, call 705 325 4347.
