Sunday March 14, 2021 

Happy "pi" day. Bob's first words today. Forgot the time change. And the inlaws coming for breakfast, but remembered pi day. 

So returning to Saturday March 13, we sadly started at the funeral home for the passing of neighbor/farmer Leroy Burkin. We did enjoy meeting with his kids and grandkids again though. Came home anticipating a flood of sap and people. It was cool last eve and the sun is warm today so we fully expected a good run.

Grocery errands and some food prep for the blackstone started the day. Amy made fan favorite bierocks for lunch today..they were great! Most of the afternoon was spent cleaning at the farm,....yet another barn..long story. Maybe detail that later. 

Bob and Gerri ran to check buckets at 3 pm and were a little shocked...little to no sap. Likely less than the 150 gallons we collected Thursday morning! It felt breezy and cool, even inside the woods. Cody, the guest maple producer for the weekend, decided to forego collecting since there would be so little to boil.

His groupies came to the house for the evening....Dave G. , Justin and Christa (she is real!! not imaginary...our apologies Justin.....we really like her tooo!!...not that you care the way we have treated you.), Scott and Shana with Quin and Case along, Evan, Kelsey, Vivian, and Brad. Cody gave a quick tour of the woods that they had come to see in the first place!  They enjoyed dinner thanks to Lee's Chicken and help from the Cleveland family. Thanks Melissa! The blackstone veggies got thrown in and on the stove. Smores did not happen. A great deal of spirited conversation regarding grain bins, how to weigh manure, replacing poles on buildings, how much Brad enjoys helping Dave drive dilapidated farm equipment for miles cross country instead of  "trailoring it" and Dave explaining how much he enjoyed tearing down a barn one piece at a time when he thought he had been invited to run a bulldozer and about a thousand other things. Everyone had a good time and some actual good information may have been exchanged. Justin has been appointed chairman of the farm advisory board. 

Sunday came early (time change day also!) as the two from Kansas were anxious to get back on the road home. We had breakfast with Dale, Karen, Dorothy, Muff, Bob and Gerri and Brad. (Kelsey and Evan went to Evan's beloved Brown County for a quick visit with family and to pick up a ram lamb. This adventure went well but they did not return until approximately 6 pm and they looked whipped!)

Cody and Amy got on the road by 1015 and headed west. Gerri went to a meeting at church and Bob spent the afternoon working on farm yield reports. We decided to gather what little was out there as the trees did not run again today !!

Vivian and her mother Sherry and brother Colton joined Don, Gerri, Nancy, Brad, Mark, Susan and Adam to gather.  Dale sacrificed watching the end of the OSU game to drive Walle.  Bob eventually rolled in and started a fire which couldn't be done too early anyway. Most buckets were empty or just had a very small amount in them. The sap is clear. Ants are prevalent. The woods is very dry. Today the wind was brisk and cold on the north side of the woods! Your face felt almost windburned at the end of the north path. Adam and Bob discussed that the woods is very dry and the wind likely combine to shut down the flow. The buds are beginning to pop on the Maple trees, this changes the sugar content and taste of the sap so we may be done. (We have read on other blogs that the southern part of Ohio had a similar abrupt stop to the season as well.) 

 Colton..next time, might be easier to not try following the guy with the longest legs around!

We emptied out about 150 gallons of sap into the camp and Brad filled the tank with water and brought that back  to chase in the evaporator. The syrup came off really dark tonight. A rather sudden change. We ate the leftover brownies and mac and cheese from last night. Don brought some wine and a dessert to share. We horned in on the Bishop family Sunday night family call and enjoyed talking with Drew and Kat! Kelsey and Evan came home and stopped in for brief visit. Cody called and he and Amy just crossed the Missouri River so they are making good time homebound. Gerri left early to wash the dogs. Not a very easy or gratifying task, but well tolerated. It was a good call to NOT have done this last night as the aroma of wet dog pretty much has filled the house! 

The game is now wait and see what mother nature has in store next! 

Total Sap Today: 150 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 4,507 

Total Syrup Today: 7 gallons

Total Syrup To Date: 99.5 gallons.......so close😲