When you grow up in Vermont, it's not unusual to see maple syrup paraphernalia whenever you leave your house. There are signs advertising real Vermont maple syrup everywhere, and when it's sugaring season, there are sap buckets and sap lines on the majority of the healthy maples.

The deeper down the back roads you go, the more sugar houses and sap collecting equipment you will see. As I mentioned before, when you leave your house you are bound to observe something related to Vermont maple syrup, but some of us are lucky enough to find those things right in our own backyards.

My family has been involved in making maple syrup since before I was born. Many of my childhood memories revolve around collecting sap and spending time in the sugar house watching the sap turn into maple syrup. There is nothing like the sweet smell that rises from the evaporator and fills the warm, dense air of the sugar house.

Of course, when you are younger, the most fascinating element to making maple syrup is the sweet and sugary taste. It's almost as if your body becomes reliant on the taste, and you need to have it as much as you can. That usually means sneaking up to the edge of the woods with a little Dixie cup to catch some sap falling out of the spout or getting it straight out of the bucket if it's full enough. It also means waiting in sauna like conditions to get a small taste of the warm and fresh syrup that tastes like heaven.

As you get older your perspective starts to shift. The love for the sweet and sugary taste is still there, but you get more involved. You start to help with the collecting, making sure to walk slow and steady with the buckets so the sap doesn't slosh over the sides -- that is, after you get all the bugs out.

As your age progresses, so does your knowledge of the inner workings of the sugar house. The mechanics of the tools, evaporator and other equipment are explained, as well as the different measurements and mathematics behind the delicious syrup that comes out.

Eventually, you start to realize making maple syrup isn't always just about the maple syrup. It is also about the bonding and memories that are made. The time spent in the sugar house truly brings people closer. There is a community surrounding maple syrup making that is outstanding.

For the most part, the people are friendly and are always willing to share stories and a few tips. Maple syrup making really shows the character behind the person. To this day, I still have a hard time trusting people who choose the fake stuff over real Vermont maple syrup.