Tuesday March 21, 2023 

It really was a terrific Tuesday. The weather surely was different than last Saturday!! Tonight was still and sunny and warm with the thermometer nearing 60 degrees. This also of course means the end of the syrup season. 

A plan was devised to pull taps tonight along wtih collecting the last sap. Brad drove tonight and was lamenting that with all the hands we had available and the speed with which they were moving we should have brought the buckets and lids into the camp in the military trailer but the prep work for that was not accomplished so we did what we could. 

Tinleigh, Curt and Erin brought friends Bryan, Heather and Braden along to help. Adam, Nancy, Bryan H. , Melissa, Muff, Evan and Kelsey helped. Brett stayed in the camp and helped Bob get a couple of fires going. Bret also had to endure Bob and Brad's discussion about how to properly NOT stack buckets together. 

As usual Adam working and everybody watching.....note the sun setting in the background...we appreciated the extra hour of sunlight!

Not sure what Erin is telling Bob..but he is not buying it......once again Adam working...Bob was sure to point out to Erin that we were burning her former "goat home"...this is another stack of wood from the old barn at the fairgrounds. 

The only thing more fun than watching Adam work is critiquing what he is doing...Tinleigh gave him grief and he dished it back...

Brad supervised smore making...Nancy supervised Brad supervising....

Brad explained math and how sharks were responsible for the sinking of the Titanic to the kids while cooking with them. They may never graduate. 

Curt built a fire out back for hot dogs and we had macaroni salad and chicken salad and cherry dessert tonight. Pretty good for the last night when we are often down to PB and J (not that there is anything wrong with that! ) 

The usual hodgepodge of current events were reviewed. Bellevue is on spring break so the big kids and little kids were up after bedtime! 

We appreciate all the help tonight (and every night prior!) . Each of you are a great blessing to our family. It was a really nice evening for a walk in the woods and a sweet end to the season. We will not miss the late nights, trying to figure out tomorrow's wind speed by the hour, collecting eggs in the dark or extracting the mud from ...well everything. But we will miss the conversations and clearly the most leisurely meals of the year!

We have more pictures to share and a few more videos. Stay tuned. We also will attempt to go back and update the totals. The evaporator crew seems surprised that the typing crew did not magically know what happened after bedtime. 

Total Sap Today: 380 gallons

Total Sap To Date:  5150 gal

Total Syrup Today:  8.5 gal

Total Syrup To Date:  89.0 gal

Our most accurate record....13 times we did this collection business this year! This turned out to be 94% of last years sap.  Bob talked to masseyranch6 from New York on Tik Tok.  They are not impressed with the weather they have had either in making syrup.

 Saturday March 18, 2023

Awoke to gentle, pretty snow this am. The sap did run a little yesterday and there is a small amount of sap in the buckets but the forcast is for significant wind gusts this afternoon so we chose to gather at 9am today! The Clevelands came and helped gather along with Adam. Bob went to work on taxes. Yuck. Brad in Cleveland with friends for the weekend. 

The woods was pretty and peaceful this am. Brad and Bob were not  present so Adam and Collin and Kelsey had some entertaining conversations. This was out of our usual order of business....so the generator was not on warming up ..the bottom tank still had 200 gallons of sap in it..so the generator followed by the pump, had to proceed the gravity dump from walle and all had to proceed the fire box starting. Brett got a fire started just prior to Bob returning. 

We decided to make this a one trip through adventure this am. Walle's tank was filled to the brink and we put some extra buckets on the back of walle as they would not fit. 

Kelsey was asking Adam questions ....Collin was on it..keeping Adam on his toes....Adam typically is not in charge of the sap transfer or the float. This was entertaining to sit and watch. 

Kelsey tried to split and fire this afternoon. At least one bandaid involved that she admitted to....

Before Adam left he pointed out that Bob had not set him up for success with little wood in the camp! Kelsey brought the telehandler down to the camp and got a few more carts for us. 

We had some french toast and cheesey potatoes and fruit for brunch after the big walk. 

Thanks to all who helped on this cold morning!

Twenty three degrees when we started gathering this morning!

Total Sap Today: 350 gallons

Total Sap To Date:  4770 gal

Total Syrup Today:11.5 gallons

Total Syrup To Date:  80.5 gal

 Thursday March 16, 2023

Susan B grabbed pizza for supper as it has been a busy week. Brad, Kelsey, Evan, Adam, Michael, Bryan, Maddie, Ava and Heath and Hailey gathered. We may have to amend this list!  We are behind and memory is not what it should be late in the season. 

This is a bit bigger  run than we expected. They were out late boiling but did not finish leaving about 200 gallon of sap for another day. The weather forcast for Friday leaves us thinking that we will not be out in the woods on St. Patrick's Day. 

Total Sap Today: 530 gallons

Total SapTo Date:   4420 gal

Total Syrup Today: 4.5 gallons

Total Syrup Today:   69.5 gal

 Wednesdy March 15, 2023

While is was 24 degrees this am....it ended up a lovely sunny and 40 some degrees out. The day really felt like spring. Katie and Henry made a visit to the camp tonight. Adam says that Henry was checking to see that Brad was working, Gerri thinks he is thinking about how fun the mud looks!

Brad drove walle and Michael, Gerri, Evan, Kelsey, Ava and Adam gathered .....less than 400 gallons. Kelsey and Bob had predicted more sap tonight...but turns out Adam was correct...not quite that much.Some buckets were half full and some almost empty consistancy was not the rule tonight. 

Melissa and Owen came to help finish up the last of the gathering and got everthing picked up around the camp.

Ice has not been seen much this season. Gerri road the trailor and dumped for awhile, the guys pointing out that she was spilling some.....stil did not get fired...harassed but not fired. 

Kelsey made a beautiful lamb roast for supper and everyone enjoyed the quieter night and the warmth of the camp. 

Total Sap Today:   380 gal

Total Sap To Date:    3890 gal

Total Syrup Off Today:   5 gal

TOtal Syrup Off To Date:       65 gal

 Sunday March 12, 2023

Rather surprised to see the ground almost covered this am with snow. A bit colder than expected. Bob ran over to church to spread some salt to start the day. After sleeping away half of Saturday, he was feeling much better. 

There was a small sap run on Saturday, but nobody cared much and it was cold overnight so this worked out well. Mid afternoon the Clevelands, Brad, Bret, Kelsey, Evan, Adam gathered . Need to check on attendance at that gig...memory is a little shakey. 

Melissa brought a crockpot of food.We thank her.  Gerri took a nap and worked on some things for catch up at work. Kelsey and Evan had 4 H tonight. 

Thankful for everyone's help today. 

Total Sap Today:  425 gal

Total Sap To Date:  3510 gal

Total Syrup Off Today:   10 gal

Total Syrup Off To Date:   60 gal

 Friday March 10, 2023

Late entry: lots has happenened since Thursday the 9th! and really not much has happened since Thursday. 

Friday brought cold and wind and rain and sleet and snow. And no sap. For which we were thankful.

This was a good thing as everyone was starting to be a bit sapped out out. The gastrointestinal bug that is going around arrived. 

Essentially the whole family was plagued by this in one way or another with the exeption of Brad and Kelsey and Evan. Emma held out until she was home to toss her little cookies. Dale and Karen seem also to have weather the storm pretty and stayed away for a couple of days.

Friday was a rather quiet day at the farm with some odds and ends accomplished and not a lot else! It is a bit funny now....and was not at all funny at 5 pm on Friday..........but there was a meal plan for Friday night....put into action early on Friday before the plague was evident...Chinese in the crockpot. There just are not words to describe the putrid smell of soy sauce and sesame oil floating throughout the house when you are baseline queasy. Jello and popsicles were a hit with a side of zofran and immodium. 

Amy took the brunt of this one and will likely be returning to Ohio only in head to toe , beekeeper style PPE!😷😷😷😷 

Saturday March 11, 2022

Dale and Karen came over bringing the rest of Emma's toys and Cody's Sherman auction treasures. Cody and Amy left for Kansas on Saturday at 3 pm and arrived home at 0630 on Sunday. This trip was not fun in anyway. Thankful for their safe return though. 

Kelsey and Evan had planned to clean out the sheep barn on Saturday and they stuck to this plan despite the lousey weather. Brad was persuaded to help. This involved a couple of skid steers and Dave coming from New Washington to help finish. Bob spent the day in sick bay. This was really not anybody's favorite day. 

While waiting on prescriptions at the pharmacy Gerri managed to lock her phone...only to be unlocked by a factory reset. Cody and Bob waisted some of their morning on this fiasco. The joy of re opening apps lives on. So ,...for many reasons, there are no pictures ...but i think the memory of this will last without visual evidence. 

 Thursday March 9, 2023

Northeast winds kept today a chilly one. There was a dampness in the air as well...incoming inclement weather of some type for tomorrow. The midwest radar has precip of all colors on it!! The guys spent the day loading a dumpster with scrap metal. They used the torch to cut up some larger relics. 

Good size crew of happy people showed up to gather 460 gallons of sap. Apparently dumped twice tonight...so the total amount of sap involved math. The ever faithful Dave showed up with help from Kelsey, Adam, Melissa, Bret, Bryan, Braxton, Collin and Megan. Evan arrived later having worked and taken care of sheep before coming over tonight. Gerri arrived late as she took the dog Blue for a check up. Brad was in flat rock working for a bit. Bob stayed in the camp and got the blackstone griddle fired up as well as the evaporator.

Gerri and Amy went to the Planktown market today....brought home cheese and bread for cheese sandwiches and amy made chili for dinner. Dale and Karen brought cousin Nancy for a peak at the operation tonight.  Emma took it all in!! If we only new what she was thinking....

Lots of adult thinking tonight....Bryan taught Gerri how to turn the blackstone really off.....Braxton dumpster dived through the snack bucket and informed Brad that he should get more tootsie pops on his next grocery run.....Adam announced that he understands how Bob's brain works..(we would all like a tutorial on that).....Dave snort laughed at the aforementioned and  agreed the camp felt as cold tonight as it has all year.....lengthy discussion on how the number of gallons in the bottom holding tank translates to how many inches in the top tank....unsure that was answered, apparently there is a chart..somewhere..... lots of laughter and a good maple syrup arouma tonight in the air. 

Evan found one last tootsie pop after poor Braxton headed for the school night shower!

The sap and syrup are darker today. Bryan found a bucket with many bees enjoying the sap! Ants are a common finding. Buds are popping. Days are clearly numbered. 

Total Sap Today: 430 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 3085 gallons

Total Syrup Off Today:   9  gallons

Total Syrup Off To Date:   50 gallons

 Sunday March 5, 2023

Friday March 3 brought rain, lots of it! We had at least 1.5 inches. evertyning is wet! Some folks to the north had snow and sleet so we are thankful for the pricipitation in the form of rain!! Everyone was happy for the rest from the woods. 

Cody and Amy (and Emma!) drove straight through to Ohio after work on Friday afternoon. They arrived at 0530 am! They managed to stay awake for the entire day! Gerri and Amy ran errands and the guys cut wood. The sun was out and felt warm but there was still a breeze. Amy put Emma in a back pack and we decided to walk the paths...that dream ended quickly when we realized all paths were full of water. Emma was unimpressed and fell asleep. The guys used the buzz saw to cut about 4 more carts of fire wood. Bob and Gerri had fun attending the Phillips family party Saturday evening while the 20 somethings ordered pizza and went to bed early!!

Sunday was another beautiful early spring day. The boys split some more wood for the camp. Today was toddler day at the camp! Katie and Adam brought Henry out for a bit. Case came with grandpa Baldosser and Scott. Case was lucky enough to drive Walle with some help from his dad. Brad felt Scott was very coachable. No offense to Dave. Adam and Brad laugh if you even mention Dave getting lost in the woods driving walle around. 

Today was Emma's first day participating in gathering. She rode in the back pack throughout. She was heard to be fussing at one point. Her dad said "no she did not get hit with stick in the head" but her head may have moved a branch. Unsure what the difference would be. She kicked her feet and seemed to enjoy the outing all in all. 

Nancy, Adam, Evan, Gerri, Amy , Justin, Cody, Scott, Justin, Ava and Macey gathered a whopping total of 190 gallons of sap. 

Sue P. stopped in for visit. She has been in sick bay for a bit. She caught us up on the exciting Seneca East wrestling news...Yea for those headed to state! 

Uncle Brad is very entertaining. 

Two gallons were taken off tonight. We had hot dogs courtesy of Scott..thanks a bunch! Justin needs to send thanks to his mother for terrific cookies!!

The pans were a little too full at the end of the evening. Adam wanted to be clear this had nothing to do with him. 

Total Sap Today:190 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 2,655 gallons

Total Syrup Off Today: 2.5 gallons

Total Syrup Off To Date: 36 gallons

Corrected Total Syrup OFF: 41 gallons (this number reflects what has been sealed off in containers, likely difference created by late night bad math)( daily values were changed 3/25)

 Thursday, March 2, 2023

Today started out with lovely sun and ended with cloud cover. Sounds like precipitation headed our way tomorrow!

The natives were all busy today. Airplanes involved.   Melisssa made chicken sandwiches for supper...Brad was to find the buns...he bought an emergency supply in case his m

other failed to provide buns again...guess that was bigger deal than she realized! 

Bret, Melissa, Brad, Nancy (who looks cold) Muff and Michael gathered. Evan came after sheep chores. Adam helped finished gathering as well. Dave came to help again...he should get a sticker for attendance and helpfulness ...we have not been very nice to him and need to redeem ourselves. Not sure if posting this picture of him is naughty or nice. 

There was a whopping 180 gallons tonight. But, it was warm to the point it needed to come in. 

Brad's end of the night story was Dave getting lost driving to finish up. He has requested maps. Brad thought this might have made Adam's day watching this unfold. Brad also thinks Dave may be making a case to sell Bob a GPS unit for the Walle. Thinking of finding a copy of Katie's rendition of the map of the woods....would make it all clear to Dave. 

Brad welcomed his father home with a suggestion to move up a new evaporator on the budget list. Apparently our current unit has some issues! Brad reviewed the blog and wants to point out that March 16, 2019 Bob was worried about what was happening at the camp without him. Brad pointed out not much has changed.

Thanks again for the help tonight everyone. 

Total Sap Today: 170 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 2,465 gallons

Total Syrup Today: 0 gallons

Total Syrup To Date: 38.5 gallons

 Tuesday February 28, 2023

Monday was a rainy day and no action in the woods. Kelsey checked buckets and found some sap at noon today. The temperature rose to around 45 degrees and is supposed to be warm tomorrow so we needed to pick this small run up. 

Kelsey and Michael and Adam apparently did most of the south path while others wandered in from work and school. Megan, Collin, Michael, Susan B., Phillip, Aiden and Isabella, Evan, Bryan and Gerri did a solid 10 buckets at the end. There was little more mud today than previous! 

Megan made walking taco's for supper tonight which seemed to be a big hit. The Shumways made some smores for the first time this year...might have to work on that technique a bit. 

Dave and Brad manned the camp and started a fire. They are certainly less peppy than a couple of days ago!

Doesnt seem like we should be down to raw honesty by Tuesday in any week...but I think we have arrived. Susan pointed out to Michael how gray his hair has become. Adam is still complaining about wood from days past...too hot or too wet ..wasn't really listening. Kelsey decided her other older brother is also a pain ...complained that Adam was bossing her around again tonight. Sounded like everyone had a long day at work today!

There was a little more sap than expected, 400 galllons in all tonight. Still clear with a sprinkle of ants here and there. 

The late shift settled in to burn for a bit with 150 gallons in the lower tank and 4 inches up top at 8 pm. 

The dog gps was not easy to set up tonight, involved a call to Bob for help...as he used it a solid two times,... a week ago, ...he was little help. Brad is not the most patient with electronics...but did give it a try and by the end of the night was exploring options for Blue having a solar panel attatched to his back. Bryan and Megan encouraged his inventiveness. 

Total Sap Today: 400 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 2,295 gallons

Total Syrup Off Today: 7.5 gallons

Total Syrup Off To Date: 38.5 gallons

 Sunday February 26, 2023

Two in a row ...beautiful days. Today a smidge warmer than yesterday. The air is crisp yet ..but dressing in layers is definitely the wardrobe call . 

We wish Elizabeth a happy  bday today! Braxton and Bryan came to help with sap today. We had a nice crew and great day to take a big walk. Megan, Collin, Melissa, Bret, Brad, Michael, Adam, Gerri, Nancy, Evan and Kelsey were also out and about this afternoon at 4. Brad drove the south path and then stayed at the camp to help get a fire started. Dave returned and helped at the camp as well. We should commend Dave on the pancakes making tonight. Dave is also serious about getting supper started..this is good. 

Bret drove the rest of the evening. He commented that Walle does not "corner well". There has been a tutorial on that..maybe catch that next time. 

Aunt Susan made an appearance this afternoon and was glad when they finally had the evaporator going. Other than keeping Susan from freezing Brad's other motivation for getting the fire stoked up in timely fashion was getting to bed on time tonight. Those young men are very tight lipped about the events in the camp on Saturday, however they all agree that Bob is fired from wood selection moving forward. They fought a cart of wet wood last night and apparently this made the night rather long. Seemed to be a priority to change out carts prior to starting tonight. 

We all were thinking this would be a bigger run today but there were only 560 gallons of sap tonight. Or so we guesstimate. Two days in a row of head scratching to figure out how much there was. Pointed out that we are not using the white board properly. Goal for next time. 

The bracket for Walle's steps fell off  at some point in the trek. Megan holds the steps up while the guys put the bracket back in place. They sure are trusting of her...after all the flack they give her, they are fortunate they did not get goose eggs. Camera person too slow to get the full hand washing in the mud puddle. 

Dave had sausage and pancakes ready promptly and they were enjoyed by all! They made fun of Gerri's lack of comprehension of the dog tracking program and the fact that she was tracking herself. Dog walked 8.6 miles tonight. Gerri was a tad shy of that...

Friend Dan stopped in with a lifetime supply of chocolate this afternoon...thank you!

Coming home went smoothly for Gerri. She is very glad to have her jeep functioning again! The dogs ate the left over pancakes while she finished loading the jeep. The dogs also saw a rabbit on the way out of the drive that had them howling. Upon arrival home they chased a chicken through a mud hole. Then chased Susan the cat into the garage, .......cat may have sat on top of somebodies brand new cupboards. FIASCO. Cup half full...no skunks involved!! 

Another great blessing today....did not burn the house down. Apparently you have to remove the wire tires from frozen sausage prior to thawing in microwave. Who knew. Probably everybody. Took a picture of the sausage candle. Pretty flame. Maybe that is the next new thing.

Total Sap Today: 560 gallons

Total Sap To Date:1,895 gallons

Total Syrup Today:  9 gallons

Total Syrup To Date: 31 gallons