FENWICK, N.S. – The first sap boil for 2019 at the Donkin’s Maple Sugar Woods in Fenwick was March 12.
“The last few years it’s been earlier than what it normally is,” said Don Hazel, an employee at Donkin’s. “The first boil last year was February 16.”
Cold nights and warm days help the sap run best and the 2019 season has been up and down.
“We have some good runs, and then it got too cold and slowed down,” said Hazel. “But it’s supposed to warm up, so it will start to run again.”
He says sales at the camp have been steady.
“Saturday and Sunday is always full with people, so we’re selling a lot of our product.”
The Donkin’s camp has a wall near the boiler where they’ve written the date of the first boil date since 1989, which happened on March15.
The latest date for the latest start to the season was March 27, 1997, and the earliest date was Feb. 16, 2018.
Boil dates for the past 10 years are as follows:
2009 – March 8
2010 – Feb. 25
2011 – March 7
2012 – Feb. 25
2013 – March 4
2014 – Feb. 26
2015 – March 12
2016 – Feb. 22
2017 – Feb. 23
2018 – Feb. 16
