Believe it or not, Ontario lays claim to one of the earliest of Canadian harvests -- maple syrup. This wonderfully sweet food is produced for just a few short weeks each spring as warmer days and cool nights cause the sap in our vast maple forests to flow.

  Gathered by the bucketful, the abundant sap is boiled down in sugar shacks, and the resulting syrup and sugar is sold from makeshift roadside stalls and stores to an eagerly awaiting public -- the original cottage industry.

  Muskoka, too, plays a part in this annual celebration as locals and visitors alike enjoy nature’s sticky-sweet harvest.

  One of the best ways to sample the region’s maple syrup is to participate in a pancake breakfast.

  One of the region’s favourite pancake breakfasts is held at Veitch’s sugar bush in Windermere. Put on by the Windermere Lion’s Club April 19th and 20th (Easter weekend) from 10 am to 3pm, it includes all the pancakes you can eat, plus sausages and maple syrup, of course, at a modest price. To get there take Muskoka Rd. 4 north out of Bracebridge all the way to the Shell station, then turn left and follow the signs to the sugar bush.

  Another pancake breakfast that is fast becoming an annual tradition is part of the Festival of the Falls in Bracebridge (May 2 & 3). The pancake breakfast – a chance to scoff some fine vitals, including sausages and bacon, with your maple syrup – takes place from 8 a.m – 11 a.m. on Saturday May 2nd at Bracebridge Bay Park.

  If after breakfast you haven’t had your fill of maple syrup, head on over to Maple Orchard Farm’s Factory Outlet and gift shop for a tour of their maple syrup kitchen. This fun 15-minute tour shows how Maple Orchard manufactures its famous maple syrup products, including maple butter and maple sugar. Best of all, you get an opportunity afterwards to buy products such as wild rice pancake mix, honey, chocolate moose and elk droppings, butter crunch bars and fudge at factory direct pricing. For more information, call 1-800-461-5445, or visit their website at www.mapleorchardfarms.com (Maple Orchard Farms is located at 14 Gray Road, Bracebridge.)

  Still more great maple syrup products are available at Brooklands Farm, located at 1375 Butter & Egg Rd, Milford Bay. Owners Ken and Katya Riley are the sixth generation of the family to produce maple syrup in the area, and specialize in quality early delicate lights to full flavored ambers. Visitors are always welcome, and the farm is open daily from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Phone 705-764-1888 or e-mail k.riley@sympatico.ca for further details.

 For Ontario-wide maple syrup info, visit the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association website at www.ontariomaple.com

Enjoy!