Special to The Landmark STERLING — Maple syrup making season is under way, and two producers on the opposite ends of the experience spectrum are reaping the sweet benefits of their labor. Ken Cranson and his family have been tapping maple trees around town every winter for decades. “Ours is a family operation,” he said. “The extended family likes to help, and the grandchildren like to hang buckets and to collect. It is always a treat to drink cold sap from the bucket, even if it trickles down your chin.” Cranson, who has lived in Sterling for 42 years, “sugared” as a kid growing up in Leominster.