Milton man's passion for sugaring rooted in family, friends and tradition

Lee Pilkovsky tosses logs into evaporator stovebox as his wife, Christine, checks the sap and Gunner, their black lab, looks on. (Rochester Voice photos)

MILTON - On Wednesday up on Teneriffe Mountain the crunch of melting snow underfoot, a warming sun and the sweet smell of sap boiling at 219 degrees inside the sugarhouse made Lee Pilkovsky certain he'd made the right decision to renew his sugaring roots.

Pilkovsky, a Marine veteran of the 2003 Iraq War, on this first day of spring was firing up his brand new evaporator for the first time to herald in this most glorious time of year with his first batch of maple syrup. Until last weekend the start of the season was still in doubt.

"The sap flowed a little bit last week, then it got cold and stopped, but it started flowing again Sunday," he said.

Several buckets just yards from the sugarhouse that make up some of the 50 or so buckets that are tapped into sugar maples on the Pilkovsky property.

Just in time for Maple Syrup Weekend, which begins on Saturday when Pilkovsky said he he'll have plenty of syrup for sale. He expects to be open from noon-5 p.m.

For Pilkovsky this is more his heritage than his hobby. He began sugaring when he was a kid living in Effingham.

He'd largely stayed away from the sugaring since he grew up, but about six years ago he and his wife, Christine, began visiting a Marine buddy in Jay, Vt., near the Canadian border, who had a sugarhouse.

"We'd go up every March and help him," Lee Pilkovsky said. "That got me thinking about it. Then last year we borrowed his evaporator, brought it down here and sugared. This year we bought our own."

Plus he built a brand new sugarhouse on his Teneriffe Road property, sinking some $8,000 in all into the operation.

Christine and Lee Pilkovsky say Gunner, their black lab, is in charge of guarding the sugarhouse at all times.

It's a lot of money for a hobby, but as Pilkovsky says, it's a passion for him. In fact, there's nothing he'd like to do better during the Northern Seacoast's mud season.

"It's that time of year," he says. "Skiing's winding down, and you can't garden yet. It's a great time to get outside with family on a hot day."

And in the bright, warm March sunlight, between keeping the stovebox full and an eye on evaporator gauges, it's easy to work up a sweat.

From sap to syrup, it takes about three to four house to sugar down 25 gallons of sap to about a half gallon of syrup, he says.

Right now his operation comprises about 100 tapped trees, with half on his land and half on neighbors'.

He'd like to build his sugaring field to some 400-500 trees.

Meanwhile, for now he's happy with the baby steps. He said his sugarhouse has no specific hours of operation, but if you see steam coming out, "We're open."

To order some syrup you can call him at 603.833.0339, email colonialmountainmaple@gmail.com or look for the steam out of the sugarhouse at 382 Teneriffe Road, Milton.

By the way if you plan on driving over, go in from Governor's Road and Mason Road, not from Route 125. Unless you're a mudder, that is.

Other local sugaring houses that will be open this weekend include Ten Rod Farm at 195 Ten Rod Road in Rochester, Rising Sweetness at 153 Middleton Road in New Durham, Spring Harvest Maple Farm, 761 Franklin Pierce Hwy, Barrington, and Maple Moon Farm, 289 Chick Road, Lebanon, Maine.