The temperatures may be cold and the snow deep, but it’s not too early to be thinking about that sweet golden treasure of spring – maple syrup. Making your own syrup can be an exciting, almost magical experience. Best of all, it’s not that difficult. The syrup season and “mud season” coincide. Sap is flowing best in the maples when nights are below freezing and days are around 40°F. All Maples, including Boxelders, will make a fine syrup. The difference lies in the sugar content of the sap. Sugar Maples have a much higher concentration of sugar in the sap, while box elders have the lowest sugar content. It takes roughly 86 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup from Boxelder sap!