For Jim and Jan Brown, ’tis the season. No, not that one, and really not even really a holiday at all. But there is a season for making maple syrup. If there was a holiday attached to it, it’s a safe bet the Northport couple would be nearly as well-known as Santa and Rudolph. Each year around this time, they take to the woods, tapping the maple trees on a portion of their 42 acres south of Northport. They drill the spials into the trees, put out the buckets and gather the sap, then turn it into the liquid gold beloved by so many. “I’ve been doing it since 2009,” says Jim, a.k.a. Pa Brown. That’s what his grandson Rance called him. After Rance passed away from brain cancer in 2010, Jim and Jan decided to sell their syrup under the brand name Pa Brown’s Maple Syrup, and send the proceeds from sales to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Though Rance lost his battle with brain cancer, Jim and Jan were touched by the care and thoughtfulness of the staff at St. Jude’s. “So, I chose to give all the proceeds (there).”