Annual maple syrup time in the Village of Warwick

WARWICK — It was somewhat cooler than normal for this time of year but Village of Warwick resident Pat Gallagher was still busy tapping his maple trees on schedule.
As it gets warmer, even though the snow is still on the ground, the maple sap begins to rise.
And in the middle of this task he enjoyed a short visit from his sister Jane Gallagher- Felix and her son Liam.
What made that visit interesting was that they had traveled from their home in Kailua on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. Snow is not something Hawaiian residents see and helping Gallagher make maple syrup by feeding wood into the fire would also be a unique experience.
He explained that although tapping maple trees is not difficult, it takes about 40 gallons of sap, collected from taps into special pails and then boiled down and filtered, to produce one gallon of syrup.
Gallagher accomplishes that by boiling down the raw sap over a wood fire. The final product is then placed in small jars, which he distributes among friends.
It has also been his longtime custom each year to host a maple syrup party in his back yard, complete with music and refreshments, to celebrate the annual tapping of his maple trees.
As the weather warms, Gallagher, owner of Gallagher Solar Thermal Energy Systems, will switch from tapping maple trees, just a hobby, to installing swimming pool as well as year-round hot water solar heating systems.
For information call 258-0749 or visit www.solarthermalsolution.com.
- Roger Gavan