This time of year is probably one of my favorites! The beginning of the end of winter. The ice begins to thaw, the day light gets longer, the trees begin to stir and begin their photosynthesis process as they begin to send their sap up through their trunks to the canopy as food to open the buds and make their leaves. The trees make more sap than they can use, that's where tapping and extracting sap comes into the picture.
We have multiple trees tapped and the nights are cold and the days are warmer which causes the sap to move up the tree. We have Sugar Maples on the property but you can tap Red Maples as well.
It will take 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of maple syrup.
You can find Tim outside this time of year, who still has not built his evaporator mind you, but still spends countless hours burning his sap as he does this and that around the yard for endless hours.
Finishing off the sap requires lots of watch time. This is the delicate time that it can burn if not watched closely. The sap at this point must reach 219 degrees for proper syrup density.
Here is some of Tim's finished product! It's some work but it is worth every moment! 
This is Tim's final product! Dark, thick maple syrup! It's some work but worth every minute! Pancakes are on the menu for sure!
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