Sunday 20 March 2011

The Birch sap is rising here on Dartmoor...Spring has arrived.


The Birch sap is rising here on Dartmoor.
 I have selected my tree and pushed the blade of my MaChris into the bark.
You can see the sap drip from the hilt. 
This indicates the sap is rising...


I then drill a hole and drive a Hazel spial into it...
I have shaped the spial as an open ended trough...


The short film shows the sap dripping into one of my Birch Kuksa...


 I carefully hang one of my old surplus water bladders over the end, and catch the sap for use later in the year when the Elderflower is blooming. Sarah makes the most wonderful cordial from the flowers.
I may boil some down for syrup depending on the yield...


Happy Days...J








6 comments:

  1. Glad you enjoyed it John. I have the range fired up and I am boiling down some of the sap as I write. I'll post a photo or two in a while...All the best...J

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  2. I'm getting ready for my birch sap. Yesterday I was in the woods, poked a few birches but still no sap. I guess next week it will come.
    By the way my wife and I enjoyed in some bacon and i was working on my new birch kuksa...

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  3. Hi Zoran...It'll come soon enough. Look forward to seeing your new Kuksa...All the best...J

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  4. Hi, do you know if birch any good to use for carving if felled when the sap is rising?

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  5. I would leave felling until the sap has stopped rising. Although if you have felled it already, carve away...J

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