Saturday March 23, 2018

Big day! Blessed with sunshine and low winds today....one of the first spring feeling days for sure!

Day started with usual Saturday catch up chores and the guys worked on several Sandhill Rd projects..dead tree removal at the pond and cleaning up a brush pile. Wally made a road trip on Eve (our name for our trailer....that's a strange thing we do...name the equipment). Anyway this was successful adventure.

Returned to put the tank on Wally and check the woods not as much sap we hoped for today...but thankful most is still clear. Fun bunch of folks showed up to gather and this always makes for lighter work.... Curt, Erin, Evan, Gerri, Brad, Katie, Nancy and Adam gathered while Dale drove and Muff dumped buckets with the help of Tinleigh. 

Turning onto the East path...T yelled "we are almost done guys"...made even funnier as she was correct!

When your arthritis just does not let you jump anymore!


Kelsey joined in about half way through and the Parks family arrived in time to help finish the East Path. 

Aunt Dorothy got a personal tour with Evan on the side by side that they both seemed to enjoy. 

Dave G made an appearance. He is like Mr Rogers , never know when he is gonna turn up in your neighborhood. He brought a syrup making neighbor from New Washington along to see the camp.

Karen got things arranged for dinner while the rest finished gathering.  

We had a quite a lively crew in the camp tonight..enjoyed visiting and especially when not overly wet or cold.

The campfire was certainly a focal point this evening!

Brad and Evan made some hot dogs which we appreciated and everyone enjoyed.

Sometime later in the evening there was  a bit of excitement when Brad took Nancy's collection of yard sticks and added them to the campfire (out back). This created a little flicker that caught Charlie Parks' attention as he was leaving!!


The view from the back..............

The view from the front.......................

We sent this pic to Cody..we were underwhelmed with his response...he said he felt this fire was a bit excessive for hot dogs. 

Total Sap Today: 260 gallons + 20 
Total Sap To Date: 5,375 + 208 Gallons
Total Syrup Off Tonight: 5.5 gallosn
Total Syrup Off To Date: 118.5 gallons

Thursday March 21. 2019
What should have taken three to four hours of boiling in the sap from last night, took 6 hours so that kept bob busy for  a bit.  Brad was elected to go to the trailers and dig out some dry wood.  There was a discussion as to who put the cart of short pieces in the trailer.  Bob did decide that short pieces would be better than the wet wood. Bob is feeling a bit disappointed that the sap did not keep well..the syrup is quite dark tonight...but everyone was really whipped last night and the decision was made to quit.

Some housekeeping details today like cleaning out the fire pit, which included a full wheelbarrow of ash. Replaced a fire grate in the firebox.  Should have done two , but only had one on hand. This is a picture of a warped fire grate (started out straight). Took a little heat to bend that !!

Noticed some flowers trying to emerge in the woods. 













It was quiet boiling today so there was enough time to read the walls!

Total Sap Today: ZERO
Total Sap To Date: 5,115 + 188
Total Syrup Today: 8.5 gallons
Total Syrup To Date: 113 gallons

Wednesday March 20, 2019

Spring! Rather cloudy afternoon but thankful the drizzle did not settle in until we were almost done gathering sap tonight. When the weather changes.... it changes fast. Kelsey commented how soupy the north lane was tonight. We spied a few ants. The sap was nice, but perhaps not as pristine as a few days ago.

Kelsey said that everyone literally showed up to gather tonight one by one. She and Melissa got off to a start by themselves and eventually, and in no specific order, Brad, Muff, Gerri, and Adam arrived.We made one big trip around the paths and dumped only once, but almost full with 285 gallons on the tank. Evan arrived in time to help unload. 


Bob once again got a fire going as early as he could. The guys unanimously voted to let the fire die out last night with around 200 gallons yet to boil. So the gathering crew had plenty of time to do their thing without worrying about running out of sap in the camp.

Muff and Kelsey assembled dinner of sloppy joes and macaroni salad, veggies and cookies. We laughed that we are going through more drinks with the warmer weather!

Tonight we discussed squirrel damage and why they are attracted to bleach,  the raccoon population in the woods and Brad made a list of things the girls could do tomorrow! 

Boiling did not go well tonight. It is humid and the wood we had was a little damp. All that was boiled in tonight was the leftover from last night. Frustrated and tired, everybody headed home by 10 pm. And this was an early night. 


Quote of the day by Bob: the ever-ready bunny needs a battery recharge. 

Total Sap Today: 260 + 25 gallons
Total Sap To Date: 5,115 + 188
Total Syrup Today: 4 gallons
Total Syrup To Date:104.5 gallons

Picture from Monday night: Spirited conversation: thought Cody would enjoy seeing who was in charge, nobody. 

Tuesday March 19, 2019

Everything we thought it would be tonight. 495 gallons + 30 to be exact!

The woods was still and quiet tonight, quite a change from the last few weeks.

Thanks to all who helped tonight again...Evan, Kelsey , Bret and Melissa got a jump start on the gathering joined by Bryan, Nancy, Chris, Phil, Aiden, Kiley and eventually Gerri. Dale provided chauffeur service again tonight.  Bob was out on an errand so Adam got the boiler going while the crew made 3 trips/dumps tonight. 




Kiley's inquiring mind wanted to know what the dog was dragging around.....a deer leg bone that has been laying in the woods all season. 






Word has it that we will need to pull the soft maple taps tomorrow if we gather. They are done according to those who tasted and smelled! These trees are normally the first to run and they are typically very short in duration. 

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Signs you might have spent too much time in the sugar camp in the last week.........

Bob asked if today was monday or tuesday?!

You have no clean clothes, the only ones you know where they are for sure are carharts/boots .

While cleaning up the food we realized that Melissa's crock pot is at Gerri's, the base is in the camp and the lid is at the farm house. Guys cleaned up by themselves last night. 

You are still laughing at Katie's stuck upside down behind the dryer story..even if you heard it before...can still make you cry. 

If you overhear Brad explaining to Adam why it goes a little faster when you make a fire under the evaporator and not beside it. 


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We had reubens, veggies and miscellaneous left overs for dinner tonight. Discussed raising bees and berries and hay tonight...diversification plans. 


Phil helped to put up a new light in the camp....Brad said we need this because Bret and Gerri cannot read the thermometer...the problem is the interpretation not the visual....anyway the new light is lovely, we can land a plane with it when we r done using it in the camp. 

Less than peppy 7th inning players.

Left about 180 gallons of sap not boiled tonight due to fatigue. 

Total sap Today: 495 + 30 gallons
Total sap To Date: 4,855 + 163 gallons
Total syrup Today: 7.5 gallons
Total syrup Today: 100.5 gallons

Monday March 18, 2018


Awoke to a white powder coating on the ground this am! Sunny spring looking afternoon. The trees must like this weather as well as they gifted us 390 + 18 gallons today! So in retrospect it was a great call to process the 270 gallons from yesterday last evening!!

The source of tonight's blog is the rumor chain with no accuracy promised. At press time people who might know what happened are asleep or in the shower and the 3 in the camp sound like they no longer care (Brad, Bob, Adam). 

Word has it....... Erin, Tinleigh, Brad, Kelsey, Muff, Adam, Maddie, Katie, Bret, Phil S., Aiden and Kylie gathered tonight. Dale drove...and did report back through the grape vine..... how impressed he was that Morgan rode the wagon and repeatedly lifted full 5 gallon buckets and that he was thankful that was not his job tonight! Brad expressed appreciation that Melissa sent food. 


As of  10 pm there were 9 inches in the upper tank. On the good side, it is 28 degrees out. On the bad side... it will not stay 28 degrees until tomorrow evening. 

Total Sap Today: 390 + 18 gallons
Total Sap To Date: 4,360 + 133 gallons
Total Syrup Off Today: 7 gallons
Total Syrup Off To Date: 93 gallons

March 17, 2019

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Well today was, as Gomer Pyle used to say..a .suprise, suprise, suprise!!

The master plan was to rest, take a nap and prepare for the week ahead, which weather wise, looks like it could be a fantastic week for making syrup. They are calling for cool nights, and warmer temps during the day with some sun at intervals. Given the fact that everyone has work or school during the day, sap runs on weeknights are always a bit trickier. It takes about an hour to boil in 100 gallons of sap ...depending of course on humidity, air flow, sugar content of the sap etc..., and an additional half hour to get it up to temp and to cool it down again at the end, so you have to plan ahead a bit if you want to get all the sap boiled in each day and get some shut eye. Processing all the sap each day becomes even more imperative as the weather warms. Bob checked buckets mid afternoon and was surprised to find what he thought would be 270 gallons...he figured we had better deal with that today in case tomorrow finds a larger run. 

Saved again by neighbors and friends we had a nice size crew to work with today....Morgan drove...and did a wonderful job! Katie, Adam, Kelsey, Evan, Muff, Nancy, Gerri, Bret and Melissa rounded out the crew. Bob guessed the sap exactly correctly ...we had 270 gallons and Adam and Katie brought about 11.  

It was pretty and sunny earlier today, but clouds came in this afternoon and the temperature dropped considerably. There was a gentle, big flake snow while we gathered tonight that was very pretty but cold! 

Today was bring your dog to work day,... Bailey, Lola, Piper, Teddy and Calvin all enjoyed a run in the woods. 

Calvin gets the award for staying the cleanest!


Before....

After....please note the color of my feet and my expressions are sporting slightly more attitude....

Half of the crew had to get to a 4-H meeting so we made bologna and hot dogs lickity split and left Adam , Katie and Kelsey to man the fort. Still standing after 4-H..... all is well. 

Highlights of the evening included Melissa's cookies and Adam went on break without going through the proper chain of command. 

Thanks to all for your help...again. 


Total Sap Tonight: 270 gallons + 11 gallons
Total Sap To Date:3,970 + 115 gallons
Total Syrup Off Tonight: 5.5 gallons
Total Syurp Off To Date: 86 gallons

T

Saturday March 16, 2019

What a fun day!  Even though it still looks and feels like winter..there is a hint of spring in the air...the morning doves could be heard this am......and the moss is perking up. The weather is cool but reasonable. There was a hint of sun today and a light wind. Perhaps nicest in the mid morning. Awoke this am to everything a pretty white from rather unexpected overnight dusting of snow.

The beloved combine is fixed...thanks to Redline and Nationwide HAHA....so Bob picked that up this morning and returned it home. We scrambled to catch up on other chores this am as well.

Bob tried his hand at making some maple cream...made the taffy portion at 0900 and the cream portion at 2100! 

Not to be outdone by Cody and Amy who spent Wednesday evening on their version.

 Cody says they stirred by hand for 40 minutes...Bob befriended the kitchenaid mixer. 

Bob ran a phone pole yesterday for the time to gather today, as he really did not think it would matter much...picking up what has been there since 

Wednesday and likely not much running today. The afternoon votes won so we started about 1 pm. Brad gets the award for best hat.

Nobody wanted to drive today so Gerri crammed into the cockpit. There was a lot of snearing, giggling and pointing......all Gerri heard was these people volunteering to drive next time. Nancy and perhaps one small tree..NOT a maple Bob...were the only victims. 

Katie exaggerating the bumpy ride!

Karma can be both swift and cruel. Nancy had a good laugh as Adam got one boot stuck in a mudhole. 

About 20 minutes later, Gerri/Wally baptized her as she collected a bucket near the path and Gerri goosed Wally to be sure not to get stuck. Sorry Nancy. Polka dots are in for spring! 

This is the scene of the crime, Adam is blocking Nancy......

Katie rode and dumped buckets while Adam, Kelsey, Evan , Muff,  Brad and Chris hauled in the sap. 

The soft maples have kicked in, Adam found a couple with full buckets today. 270 gallons was a respectable haul today considering we started with about 200 gallons in the camp leftover from Wednesday night. 

After we gather the sap into the
325 gallon container...we take it to the camp, attempt to park it on an angle and then pump it out into a stainless milk tank. We sometimes empty the tank if there is more than say 100 gallons at the end of one path (there are three major paths) so as not to be driving to the far corner of the woods and potentially running out of space. If you are driving Wally and emptying the tank this takes about 5 minutes. If you are standing by the path with your full buckets and those of your 2 best friends waiting, it feels like it takes about an hour. 

Adam working, Bob watching. 








Kelsey and Muff made philly steak n cheese on the griddle with cole slaw for lunch...that was enjoyed by all. 

Adam and Brad split wood and bantered for a bit. Bob gave them a talkin to about shutting down the evaporator properly....Adam grinned,...Brad rolled his eyes...unsure who absorbed the information. Dogs seemed attentive. 

The syrup is slightly darker today as the sap has sat for the last 48 hours. Each bottle represents a 5 gallon bucket of syrup. They are kept and used to help blend for specific uses while canning. 

Karen and Dale came for a visit at the end of the evening. Drove home in the daylight....woohoo! 



Total Sap Today:270 + 8

Total Sap To Date:3,800 + 104 gallons

Total Syrup Today:13 gallons

Total Syrup To Date: 80.5 gallons