Jayden Palmer keeps an eye Sunday morning on the temperature of the sap he is boiling down to make candy. Living next to Dan Giguere on Old Danville Road in Auburn, who is building a unique, locomotive-style tree house for his sugar shack, Palmer got the itch to tap trees on his family’s property and is learning to make maple syrup, candy and other treats from the longtime maple syrup maker at Rock Maple Mountain Syrup Co. Giguere was not ready to open the tree house operation this year, but had a few items for sale during this year’s Maine Maple Sunday Weekend. Giguere and Palmer are hopeful they will be able to fully open the unique sugar shack next year, with big plans to offer hands-on learning experiences throughout the season, not just one weekend in March. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal