Tapped Tree The tapping of a tree is how maple syrup starts. A hole is drilled into the side of a tree, where a spout is placed inside. The sap then drips out of this hole, through the spout and into a pail, which is hung off the spout. This is a close up of the spout, otherwise known as a spile. Once the sap has been collected each day, there is usually enough to have a boil on the weekend. All of the sap gets put into LARGE cast iron kettle and put over a fire to boil off most of the water to thicken the sap into syrup. The big dipper in this picture is used to cool off the syrup when it gets to hot, otherwise it will boil over the edge of the kettle Being back in the maple bush all day often leads to the kids getting their clothes wet. The only way to deal with this is to make a clothes line over the fire and hang the clothes to dry. But make sure that no socks fall in to the syrup! Night time is my favourite part about boiling maple syrup. The fire looks so beautiful and everything is so calm. It's a very relaxing part of this very stressful time. Finally, after boiling the syrup down to the right thickness and cleaning it the following day, we end up with a beautiful finished product ready to enjoy.