An early spring tradition

An early spring tradition

Pat Ward and his wife, Barb, make maple syrup as a hobby job. New this year, he is going to try to tap walnut trees. It takes more effort to boil down the sap, but the syrup can fetch $7 per ounce. He said it would make for an expensive pancake, but he wanted to give it a try. Folks can buy a bottle of his maple syrup at the farm at 2410 Ryan Lane, off Happy Hollow Road southeast of Jacksonville. If you get lost, call Pat Ward at 217-473-1355.

The Wards usually host the Morgan County Audubon Society’s Young Explorer Club and others interested in learning about syrup production. The Young Explorer Club’s next event on owls will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 18 at the Jacksonville Public Library.

Pat & Barb Ward maple syrup demonstrations Saturday 18 February
2023 Photos by Steve & Tiffany of Warmowski Photography

Pat Ward sets out with some young volunteers to tap a tree during a maple syrup demonstration in rural Nortonville last week. Pat Ward and his wife, Barb, make maple syrup as a hobby job. New this year, he is going to try to tap walnut trees. It takes more effort to boil down the sap, but the syrup can fetch $7 per ounce. He said it would make for an expensive pancake, but he wanted to give it a try. Folks can buy a bottle of his maple syrup at the farm at 2410 Ryan Lane, off Happy Hollow Road southeast of Jacksonville. If you get lost, call Pat Ward at 217-473-1355.

The Wards usually host the Morgan County Audubon Society’s Young Explorer Club and others interested in learning about syrup production. The Young Explorer Club’s next event on owls will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 18 at the Jacksonville Public Library.

Pat & Barb Ward maple syrup demonstrations Saturday 18 February 2023
Photos by Steve & Tiffany of Warmowski Photography

Pat Ward adds wood to the fire as Barb Ward tends to their new evaporator. The new equipment has a shorter boiling pan, but the bottom is corrugated to allow for more efficient heat transfer. The Wards finish off their syrup on a home stove, but the product is closer to the final sugar concentration than batches off the old evaporator, so they use less electricity boiling off the last few percents of water.

Pat & Barb Ward maple syrup demonstrations Saturday 18 February 2023
Photos by Steve & Tiffany of Warmowski Photography

Michael Madison and Alyssa Scheafer take off in a cart to check out bags collecting sap drip-by-drip. Madison was a student at Northwest Missouri State University when Pat Ward ran the arboretum, and the pair drove in from Iowa to help with the sap run.

Pat & Barb Ward maple syrup demonstrations Saturday 18 February 2023
Photos by Steve & Tiffany of Warmowski Photography

Pat Ward unloads a tank of maple syrup. He said this year it’s taking more than 50 gallons of sap to boil down to 1 gallon of syrup. This year with the mild winter, the maple syrup run is finishing early. Sub-freezing nights and warm days are needed for the sap to run.

Pat & Barb Ward maple syrup demonstrations Saturday 18 February 2023
Photos by Steve & Tiffany of Warmowski Photography

Barb Ward delivers the final product — maple syrup poured over vanilla ice cream.

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