Sweet spring in the sugar bush, as 2016 brings 'syrup tsunami'

April is here, and that normally marks the end of the short maple season. But this year, many local sugar bush operators are still finding sap in their bucketsalmost a month after the season began.

Many years, the syrup season is just twoweeks long. ButtheOntario Maple Syrup Producers Association says 2016 has been theprovince's best spring in a quarter-century, a rare syrup tsunami.

Ottawa-area producers are crediting the weather. For much of March, local temperatures haven't deviated too far from the freezing mark, hovering slightly above zero during the day, and slightly below at night.

That thermalconsistency allows maple trees to push sap out through the holes drilled into their trunks during the daylight hours and vacuum up fresh groundwater at night, thusreplenishingthe tree's sap supply so it can begin flowingagain in the morning.

Maple Weekend

If you're a syrup lover, this weekend is going to be pretty sweet. That's becauseit's Maple Weekend, when syrup producersacross Ontario throw open their doors and welcome visitors. That's thisSaturdayand Sunday, April 2 and 3.

You can find a sugarbush near you here,including Fairbairn Maple, just south of Almonte.