| We have made about 13,000 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, is a County
Commissioner and is the mastermind behind the maple syrup making. Leane
works as an event planner at a nearby retreat and conference center, does the landscaping
and grass mowing on the farm and is in charge of planning and running
the annual maple syrup festival.
Our oldest daughter, Jenny, is 23, and graduated in April, 2004 from
Sullivan University as a Bakery and Pastry Chef. She also obtained a degree in Business Management in December 2007 and is employed at an investment company. Her future palns are to start working on her Master's Degree in August 2008. Her boyfriend, Andy, got his first taste of the maple syrup season and festival in 2008. 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 20, works as a legal assistant at a local law office, and is a sophomore studying for a Business Degree. Her future plans are to obtain a law degree and become a lawyer. Emily's husband, Brenton, is employed as an airline mechanic. He is a wonderful
addition to our family and
an integral part of the syrup season; he keeps our machinary running
and
helps with the tapping. Emily sets up and decorates the sugarstore
every year and works in the store during the festival.
Caleb, 15, is a freshman in high school where he is on the tennis, wrestling and track teams, loves to ride his dirt bike and motorcycle, plays a mean
game of ping pong, and likes to play all kinds of video games. He helps with parking cars during the festival, which is sometimes a tricky job because of all the mud.
And, not to forget some other important members
of the family: we have five horses - Sassy, Romeo, Freckles, Trusmo and Cosy; five dogs
- Rosco, Brown (ours), Bubby and Roadie (Emily and Brenton's), and Jack (Jenny's); and a cat - Luke.
Ashes, our old gray cat who was about 16 years old, died in November 2007. Emily and Jenny's new horse, Romeo, is progressing quite well in his training for
Cross Country, Stadium Jumping and Dressage. The girls have plans to show
him in shows all over the mid west during the summer of 2008. |
