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

 Saturday, February 25, 2023

Positively gorgeous day. Sun and less wind today.Awoke to a light dusting of snow. Said "snow " appeared as tiny little almost hail like spheres. This pic from the driveway in the shade at 1130 am. 

Sheep chores kept Evan and Kelsey busy this am...the sheep are out in some pasture. They are not happy as they want hay. Evan said they had to wait on new feeder to arrive. Guess they were not real understanding. Brad spread fertilizer this am while the ground was cold...far from frozen. Gerri tried to clean a layer off the kitchen countertop and dropped off recycling on her way to get chicken feed. Dan and Denise dropped off cookies. The morning seemed to fly by quickly.  Everyone showed up for sandwiches at 1pm at home, which was appreciated. 

Evan and Kelsey attempted to help Gerri with technology after lunch, ........ a new work computer, a new phone and a new dog GPS system is too much for a year much less a week. They probably lost a half hour of life they won't get back and did not accomplish much! Likely, you will see pictures of today, tomorrow! 

Mid afternoon rolled around quickly. Adam, Michael, Evan, Brad, Kelsey, Muff and Gerri gathered sap at a pretty good clip. Brad drove most of the way and Evan finished the last lap. The sap was a little erratic with some buckets much fuller than others. The run was a little better than we expected at 475 gallons. Adam commented he saw ants....usually a late season sign. There is some green popping up through the dry leaves and the moss is thriving. We laughed that you would not guess it was a February day until you stopped for a few minutes to wait on the tank...then you were reminded the breeze is still pretty crisp.! 

Lucky for us Dave arrived in time to have a toasty fire in the evaporator by our return. If you wondered who was firing the evaporator...the sound of terrible music emminating from the camp would narrow your guesses. (But we did enjoy the sugarwood farm tik tok Dave! )The fire felt good in the camp tonight!  He one upped Bob by also starting the fire ring out back...looking to eat sooner rather than later. That happened later anyway despite his good planning! 

Wanted to take a cool picture of Adam's reflection in a rare mud hole...Brad pretty much ruined that by driving through a little fast...see the wake!

 

Blue, the new dog on the farm, proudly participated tonight. He was somewhat desperate for a run (walk is not going to be in his vocabulary). The GPS unit on his collar says he ran 4.3 miles. He did manage to stay nearby most of the time and if we accomplished nothing else...we could see where he was on the screen.... so points for us. There is nothing quite like the serenity of the woods...and then a computerized voice in your pocket says "Blue is barking" ..that is a little startling if your not expecting it.  

Kelsey and Evan headed from the gathering sap project to the gathering sheep project. Dave asked them to also gather up some larger speakers so he could listen to the basketball playoffs!

Adam was elated to see yet another cart of ironwood (not what it was, just what it split like!) When Gerri left the camp...the guys seemed to have a grip on the job at hand.....haven't smelled scorched pans ......yet...... hot dogs and spirits may be helpful or harmful. To be a fly on that wall.....Tomorrow's post will likely include interviews of the survivors from Saturday night. Special attention to each of their perspectives. 

Total Sap Today: 475 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 1,335 gallons

Total Syrup Off Today: 9 gallons

Total Syrup Off To Date: 22 gallons

Nature already working on tomorrow:

 Monday February 20, 2023

Today was pretty to look out at... but the breeze was out of the north east making it a little cooler than advertised! Brad had the day off of the 9 to 5 today so he and Bob caught up on a few things. 

There were several new carts of wood in the camp tonight. They moved some equipment and dazzled up the parking lot a bit. The tree down on the east path was cleared to avoid Walle having to hurdle that again. Still no I.T. help to insert yesterday's video. 

Gerri and Adam discussed rocks for the tops of buckets on Sunday...did not accomplish that by Monday!

G

Megan, Collin, Brad, Michael, Adam, Evan, Kelsey, Gerri, Ava and her grandparents gathered 310 gallons. A little easier task tonight except they pushed the finish line a little closer to dark. Dale visited in the camp with Bob for a bit.

The woods remains dry...except wherever Collin got his new boots  dirty....mystery to Brad. The prophesy came true that Adam was moving slower tonight and a bit less agile! Everyone was a bit punchy for night number two....Megan hurled a bucket over Walle at Adam and later supervised his firing technique. Bob was supposed to start a fire on the fire ring to make brats for supper. Instead he made a fire in the evaporator and almost ran out of sap before enough could be collected. Kelsey was in a hurry to get back to the house for zoom meeting for work and Megan and Brad were visiting..on Walle...far behind the folks with full buckets....she yelled at them from a distance to quit gabbing and get moving!

Brad sent the above picture with this caption: Could not help but notice it did not rain and Walle is very wet. Collin and Megan spilled too much product, they can expect their pay being docked. Shout out however for the rice krispie treats Megan!

This writer unaware of who took the picture at the top, or what time, but could not help but notice ...Brad...the floor of Walle is wet in that one too!

Brad always has a knack for drawing the dirty job ....he spent some time taking the mud off of the tracks so they do not freeze in place should it ever decide to turn cold again!

Eventually..we had brats from Bubbarock in three flavors, enjoyed by most patient enough to wait...without buns. Bob was not happy about no buns, started asking at 9 am...life went on without them. 

Last night they took off about 5 gallons of syrup and had 2-3 in the filter yet. 

Total Sap Today: 310 gallons

Total Sap To Date: 860 gallons

Total Syrup Off Today: 5 gallons

Total Syrup Off To Date: 13 gallons

 Sunday February 19, 2023 

Day one is always a bit crazy! This was a pretty day with a lot of sun and warm wind...felt like a spring day. Adam and Henry still smiling on day one...and likely the last day this week Adam's arms will be able to lift that high!! 

The first day to boil is always a bit wild and crazy. Lots of last minute details. The generator needed gas. Walle blew a radiator hose about an hour prior to gathering. The ever present fiasco of the attatchment of the steps to the back of Walle and where are all the pieces and parts to do that??? Grandpa Jack, the forklift whisperer, was not here to keep the it purring along today either!!

Henry came for a visit prior to the craziness today escorted by his mother Katie. We had a fun visit.  He may be wise beyond his years...big smile when he said bye-bye!! 

First day..boots still clean :)

Brad spFent the early afternoon fashioning a back patio that his mother is quite fond of!! He moved some more gravel around and worked to ready the camp. We pulled into the woods to gather about 4:15 with Adam, Gerri, Kelsey, Brad. Michael and Evan. Bob stayed at the camp to change gaskets in the glass pipeline and get the firebox ready. 

The wind was pretty significant when we started on the south path and had died down to almost nothing by the time we finished. We pulled around the south path and then up through the middle and then Brad drove back to the camp to empty the sap. Walle returned with a new pilot...and i mean that literally. Dave drives with a purpose. Flying through the woods. Brad pointed out to him later in the evening to estimate stops about every 70 feet and not every 13 miles. There is a hairpin turn at the end of the north path..about a dozen buckets are a ways west of that....Dave let Adam and Brad carry full buckets back quite a ways. Brad's litany of complaints could be heard over Walle's engine. There was some discussion about getting an air horn for Walle. Brad did get little revenge by beating on the hood of the cab of Walle....coated Dave with a fine layer of "pixie rust". 

While finishing the east path, in the home stretch, Daved asked Brad several times "what do you want me to do?" Brad, in back of Walle, was not appreciating the tree that had fallen across the path, (likely in the night). He said "drive on the path Dave"...so that is what he did. Revved her up and over the logs. Gerri does not have the IT skills to independently load the video of this ...however we will make this a priority.... so check back! Tomorrow needs to start with a chain saw and  removal of that tree! And perhaps Brad needs to appreciate that Dave asking questions is a red flag that needs more attention. 

Dogs Blue and Piper went on a great run again tonight, did the entire woods..full circle. So Blue ended up tied on a rope for a bit. Brad and Gerri were plotting that perhaps a behavioral collar might help Dave with the driving as well as the dog? 

550 gallons is not a great run for day number one...but considering how dry the woods is and how windy it is today..we are thankful for what we have! A few of the buckets were 75% full so this was quite the wake up call to start the season!!  This tree had 2 buckets, both this full. 

Megan, sorry you missed a warm meal!! The camp did feel better with the fire going for sure!

Adam was struggling as they chose some apparently hard as concrete ASH to begin with this season. 

Kelsey and Evan made chicken fajitas for dinner and had to head out quickly for the first night of 4-H. Dale and Karen and Susan came out for a bite of dinner and some cheerful conversation. 

Either our post covid noses do not work....or the camp did not smell quite as sweet as typical tonight. No syrup off by 830pm

First fire in the box this year. 

Thankful to everyone for the help tonight....it was a fun afte

rnoon!

Total Sap To Date: 550 gallons (one tenth of last years total BTW!)

Total Syrup Off Today:      8 Gallons

Throw back photo of the day: tap dates for the last 9 years! Our sophisticated bookkeeping system..we write them on the wall of the sugarcamp! 

For those of you who know:

 Saturday February 18, 2023

The weather was rather frigid today with a high about 40 degrees. the wind made it feel much cooler ! There is certainly a lack of snow and mud for tapping day.....thinking that this might decrease the sap flow as well. Wind was not in short supply today. Bob said one tree he tapped groaned and creeked earily. 

Bob and Brad started the day spreading beans while the ground was frozen. We have a pile of beans that were damaged and we are spreading for the nutrient quality. They managed to get about 9 loads out. Adam started tapping all by himself this am! Over the course of the day Bob,Brad, Evan and Kelsey joined in  to finish the project by late afternoon. Gerri ran some errands in town and amused Brad by shopping the work clothes clearance sale at Rural King. Gerri has pointed out to Brad on many occassions that there are other places that sell clothes ...yet he remains depedent on them for much of his wardrobe! He will not let his mother forget her purchases. 

Gerri dropped off a new supply of syrup to Bubbarock Meat CO...thanks to them for the facebook shout out today...appreciated that ! 

They took a quick break at 1 pm for some warm sloppy joe's..but eating is just not as pleasant when it is this cold and no fire. 

Late afternoon found Brad doing some trimming around the camp while bob cut the last couple of logs that are laying close to the driving paths. Bob loaded up the extra wood and threw it in the back of Walle. He will express surprise tomorrow as to why his back hurts?!

Kelsey got after the glass cleaning project in the camp, cleaning out the bowl is a big challenge...Bob then got involved. They ended up using a lot of elbow grease, some Dawn and lot of hot rinse water. It does not look perfect, but a lot better !! New gaskets came today from the dairy supply store...those can be put in tomorrow.

Taking hot water out of the thermos. 

There was an inch or so in most of the buckets tonight. 

The day ended with critter chores and working on a new tire for the front of the back hoe. That project is "in progress"......

 Friday February 17, 2023

There was a small amount of water in the pans that turned into some beutiful crystals overnight!

Abrupt change in the weather today! Light snow visible all day long. Just enough to dust the ground. 

Bob spent some time doing paperwork before he headed to the woods. During the course of the day he managed to get the buckets to the woods and distributed to the trees. 

Adam, Kelsey, Megan and Brad helped him later in the afternoon. It was 24 degrees by sundown so this was a chilly process!

The dogs found this to be a chily process as well....Bailey has a lot of icicles hanging on her chin!

The group just beat the sunset tonight. Blue the dog went on a big adventure walk much to Bob's dismay. Kelsey retrieved him from the neighbor's. He was in big trouble.  

Gerri ran to Wilson tire after work to grab a new tire for the backhoe and pizza for the hungry workers.Sitting around and talking after supper is not as enjoyable when you can see your breath.  

 Thursday Feb 16, 2023

Cannot believe it has been a year since the last post. Rather sad. 

Cleary our most exciting event in the last year is the addition of a new generation to the farm with the birth of Emma Marie Rine on April 11, 2022!! She made her first visit to the farm for Thanksgiving of 2022.  This of course necessitated trips to Kansas in April, July and September !!

 

Already getting in tractor time during Kansas wheat harvest! Please ignore Grandpa Stroberg's tractor's off red paint! 

Proving we know how to dress for winter! 

Work continues on the Turner house and barns. The sheep are multiplying like rabbits. The above is the creeper pen. 

The crop farm did well with good weather. The blueberry patch is water logged..water laying in the rows between...a problem that we hope to resolve in 2023. The only thing we grew much of in the berry patch last year was  tadpoles..numbers in biblical proportions. 

The fall was dry and harvest was easy and early...until the last 80 acres that took about 2 weeks with a multitude of breakdowns. Parts, of any kind, still remain hard to get and there was a lot of "waiting". We finished the last field of corn about 11 pm on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 

Jack and Marsha visited over the Thanksgiving holiday for the first time in several years. Bob, Jack, Cody, Brad and Emma pause work for a picture. 

The Christmas holidays of 2022 were perhaps the quietest ever!! Gerri attempted to do 58 hours of continuing education in December...... a feat never to be repeated again. The worst storm of the winter thus far lasted only a little over 24 hours, but blew in untimely on Dec 23rd. Blizzard like conditions with only 4 or 5 inches of snow and very cold wind chills to 20 degrees below zero ushered in christmas weekend. The wind caused poor visibility and stopped traffic for the better part of the 23rd and 24th.   Our family togetherness project for Christmas weekend was all testing positive for covid. Thankfully nobody very ill...just slept and slept and slept. Bob made eggs for christmas lunch! We are thankful to the Hoover family who fed us that weekend with soup and chicken pot pie and more!! 

The week following the guys worked on running electric and water to the barn on County Rd. 21 with a new trencher. Good to work outdoors for a bit!! The electric and water has been appreciated with 45 new lambs!! (may be off 1 or 2, literally have lost count)

One of the warmest Jan and Feb that we can recall!  It is dry in the woods as well. Very few mud puddles. Wind has perhaps been the weather event so far this winter but surprisingly few trees blocking paths. 

Bob has spent a good deal of the year thus far in Florida with his folks. Jack and Marsha have not had a smashing holiday season either...both had covid, both have new fractures, Marsha a new knee and they are in the process of trying to move down the street to a larger home. Bob has admitted that he has enjoyed their company and the seafood and sunshine this winter. Muff, Gary, Michelle, Gerri, Cody, Amy and Emma all made brief visits as well. 

Building new steps for grandpa at the new house! 

The first work afternoon in the woods happened unplanned on Saturday Feb 11th when Justin arrived mid morning and said "lets go!". He helped Bob and Brad to sharpen chain saw chains and make a few paths. Gerri backpacked some lunch to the woods and was thrilled to see 3 Walle loads of nice looking wood chips!! 

Always interesting to see what has happened in the woods over the winter. Appears this is a squirrel pantry

On a sad note , Lola , our yellow lab passed away shortly after the camp season last year. Bob's valentine's day present this year was Blue, Blue Pickle is his full name. (short for Pickleseimer...as he hails from KY!! Wilson family humor)  He came from the homestead of Chris and Cori from Kentucky, about one hour south of Lexington. He was dropped off there and they loved him back to life over 5 months. He is gentle and kind. Runs like Jack-Jack in the movie The Incredibles though. All you see is a streak. Herding in that streak is going to be a challenge. He has made several trips to the woods and to his credit has stayed with us thus far. 

Valentine's Day Brad and Bob cut some wood and put it in totes. Adam will be glad to see that we have 8 carts ready to go! Wednesday Feb 15th was so warm Bob took the opportunity to use the power washer to clean the holding tanks in the sap building. He also used the warm water to help clean up the evaporator. The best news of Thursday is that the water he left in it on Wednesday was still there meaning we have no huge leaks!! YEA! A new evaporator is on the list, just not all that high on the list yet ! The pennies welded in a couple of years ago remain intact!!

Not clean but cleaner....

We are the last to tap in the neighborhood...again. To some degree we are not ready...but Bob is holding out for colder weather which has arrived today. Tomorrow sounds like a perfectly miserable weather day so should be a good day to tap!!