Sap Gathering 2010

03/27/2010 20:04 Filed in: volunteering | Lucy
This afternoon
Brea, Beth, and I volunteered in the woods of Stonewall farm. Our job at this year’s annual Sap Gathering was to refill buckets after a team of horses, driver, and helpers had emptied them. It was a nice change from the parking job I did last year because I now have a better understanding of what the contest is all about.

In the olden days sap gathering was done by horse and man together. Now the gatherer uses a motorized vehicle with horsepower to retrieve the sap. Stonewall Farm is known by some throughout New England to be host of the event in which keeps the old tradition alive.


Each team has a driver who directs the two horses through the course, and two helpers who empty the buckets from the trees into their buckets and then dump them into the big container lying on the sleigh. The rules are quite simple. Each team has to get through the woods collecting the contents of the buckets. They are trying to collect as much as possible in the least amount of time. However they cannot rush too fast because there are many ways they can be docked points. If the helpers forget to empty a bucket, put a bucket back on the tree, or forget to replace the lid they are docked.

Beth, Brea, and I were there to refill the buckets and survey them as they passed. We couldn’t point out any buckets they missed or forgot to put back properly. We were merely there to catch any mistakes they made and then get ready for the next team to dump our buckets out again.

It was fun to see the men and women run back and forth between the trees and their containers emptying the buckets. Some teams were very quiet and concentrated while others were loud and yelling instructions to each other as they went. The three hours we were there passed quickly because it was so much fun. The shortest time a team made, I believe, was around 11:04. Next year I hope to be a bucket filler again, because on the course is where the all action is.



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