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mail boy June, 2013 Volume 7, Issue 4 Gem Lake News Special Interest Articles: • Maple Syrup Production • Use that Fire Extinguisher Effectively • City News Page 4 • WaterFest 2013 Upcoming Recycling Dates: June 12 June 26 July 10 July 24 Gretchen Artig-Swomley, Newsletter Editor Our long cold winter did have at least one positive effect. Weather conditions were ideal for a record flow of sap from local maple trees. Making maple syrup can be a fun and productive hobby and is not as hard as you make think! The first step is to identify suitable trees. The most ideal is the Sugar Maple tree, appropriately named because of the high sugar content of its sap. In descending order of sugar content are other ideal trees to tap, such as the Black Maple, the Red Maple and the Silver Maple. Please note that the Box Elder tree (also called a Ash-Leaved Maple), is in the maple family and can produce great quantities of sap. There is a direct connection between the sugar content in the sap and the amount of boiling time required to convert it into syrup. The higher the sugar content, the less boiling time required. Sap usually flows between mid-February and mid- March, depending entirely on weather conditions. Please note, these timing guidelines were meaningless this year! (continued on page 2) Banner Season for Maple Syrup Production th Prevent Disaster: Learn to Use that Fire Extinguisher A fire extinguisher is sort of like an airbag. You will probably never need it, but when you do, you REALLY need it. Therefore, it's a good idea to make sure you know how to use your extinguisher, where to store it and how to know whether it's time to get a new one. First of all, where do you put your extinguishers in your home? Robert Allee, Service Manager for J.N. Johnson Sales and Service, suggests at least a few extinguishers in every home, and more if possible. One on every floor and one in the garage, at minimum. (continued on page 3)