We were working on the house this weekend when we saw a lot of people walk up the street and gather around the tree outside our house. Turns out it was a demonstration of how to tap a maple tree for it’s sugary sap and part of the Atharhacton Maple Project (see below). It was pretty cool to see them doing it, especially to see how easy it was to do, though I think the work is in the refining of the sap.
We joined the group and were told of the old Native Americans practices of asking the tree for permission, thanking the tree and offering the tree roots tobacco leaves. They also told us that this tree is a silver maple tree and not a red maple as we thought, even though it does have red blossom.
Silver maple isn’t the best tree for syrup as the sugar content is lowish but we do hope to try some next weekend on pancakes.
Atharhacton is the Lenape tribe name for the Kingston area. This project honors our native “first people” and one of their gifts to all future settlers: the wisdom, method, and gratitude for making Maple Sugar. (from: https://www.seedsongfarm.org/maple.html)
If my memory serves me well the Native Americans were descendants of the Welsh folk that crossed the great ocean in their coracles in search of the promised land. If you think about it there’s a spiritual connection between you and the tribe that lived in the Kingston area.
So that gets us to your Native Indian name. I would be called Running Water as I spend my days and nights going to the toilet and you would be Evil Wind, for reasons we won’t go into. :o)