As I had mentioned we did it for many years by hanging the buckets from taps off of maple trees. We would collect the sap from the buckets a couple times a day and boil it down on our electric stove. This would take us hours. Now....
We have just started putting up our lines to the maple trees. Any sugar maple with an 8 in diameter or more can be tapped for making syrup. This can take up to 30 years.
Springtime is the season for sugaring, when nights are cold (below freezing) and the days are warm. Depending on the weather sugaring can last a few days, a few weeks or a month.
Once the sap (which looks like water but has a sweet taste to it) starts to run it needs to be boiled down to get all the water out of it. This is done in an evaporator. Sap boils at 210F. It is the boiling process that produces the great maple flavor.
Just the right amount of cooking time is crucial. Too much cooking will cause the sugars to caramelize and even scorching your product. To make sugar candy you need to get it 237 F then letting it cool down to 155 F
Some important things that is used to go through this process are:
candy thermometer
hydrometer 
automatic draw valve
evaporator 
skimmer 
defoamer
canning filter 
grade tool 
sap
Pure maple syrup includes one ingredient maple syrup, 1 tablespoon has 50 calories, has no protein, fat, or cholesterol
Unopened syrup stores easily, unrefrigerated.
"Sugar on Snow" is the most traditional springtime treat. Fresh hot syrup is poured over snow. The syrup turns waxy and is eaten like candy along with doughnut and sour pickles.