| We have made nearly 16,000 gallons of 100% pure maple syrup on our farm in scenic Southern Indiana since 1981. Pure maple syrup is 100% maple sap that has been boiled down; 50 gallons of sap makes one gallon of syrup. A gallon of pure maple syrup weighs 11 pounds and will make 8 pounds of pure maple candy. Store-bought pancake syrup consists of corn syrup, flavoring and coloring, with a few brands containing 2% maple syrup.
Ours is the REAL thing!!!
Pure maple syrup is the original sugar for North America and a natural health food, containing trace elements that promote good health. Indiana maple syrup tends to be darker and have a fuller flavor than syrup from the East Coast. The thousands of folks who attend our annual maple syrup festival can attest to our superb quality.
All of our pure maple syrup is bottled in small batches right here on our farm to assure quality and freshness. Syrup is graded by color - the taste is delicious for all grades. Medium Amber is delicious on pancakes and other breakfast goodies, while Dark Amber and Grade B are great for pancakes and especially wonderful when used for baking and cooking. Leane and Michael's Sugarbush is a small, family owned and operated maple syrup business. We pride ourselves on our high quality pure maple syrup and friendly, efficient service.
A little bit about our family - Mike is a professional civil engineer, employed by our county as the Solid Waste District Manager and is the mastermind behind the maple syrup making. Leane works here on the farm keeping everything landscaped and mowed, helps Mike bottle and deliver syrup, and is in charge of planning and running the annual maple syrup festival.
Our oldest daughter, Jenny, is 28, obtained a degree in Business Management in December 2007 and is presently employed at an investment company. She completed her MBA in May 2012. She was married in August 2010 and she and her new husband are a great asset to the syrup season and festival. During the festival Jenny is the tour guide, giving tours of the sugarbush and sugarhouse. She loves to tell funny family stories about her memories of past syrup seasons.
Emily is 25, works as a legal assistant at a law office, and graduated with a Business Degree in December 2011. She was married in May 2010 and she and her husband are integral parts of the syrup season preparations and festival. Emily does an awesome job setting up and decorating the sugarstore every year and she manages the store during the festival. In August 2012, Emily and Robert's first child was born - a son named Mason. He is our first grandchild - being a grandparent is wonderful!!!!
Caleb, 20, works in Salem, likes to play the guitar and work on cars. He helps with festival set-up works at the cross cut saw activity and branding iron during the festival and this year he gave our Adventure Tours.
And, not to forget to mention some other important members of the family: we no longer have any horses on the farm because the girls have moved their horses nearer to their new homes. Jenny is training her horse Cowboy in three day eventing and hopes to take him to a high level of showing. Emily has two horses that she rides as her busy life as a new mother allows. We have four dogs - Rosco (Caleb's), Bubby and Mr. Brown, and Leane got a Cocker Spaniel named Clancey in mid-2011. He is a delight to all. Caleb has a dog named Millie, and several neighbors have dogs so we have more than a fair share of canine creatures. So, except for the dogs, our menagerie is down to a more managable size. There are still plenty of wild creatures around for us to enjoy. Mike likes to feed the birds and we gave him a huge bird feeder designed to look like our sugarhouse for Christmas several years ago. Our newest son-in-law built it and the birds love it. We also often see deer, squirrels, opossums and raccoons. We hear coyotes and we hear that others have seen lynx.
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