March 2011

Sugarhouse is cranking!

Stopped by the sugarhouse last evening (I brought Fra and his “crew” an apple pie I’d baked with some of the last of last year’s Grade B syrup.)  They are really hitting their stride — they capped their 77th barrel while I was there, which comes out to just over 2,900 gallons made so far this year (which means they’ve gathered over 116,000 gallons of sap!.)  The weather forecast for the next week looks pretty good, too:  warm days, below freezing...

My first crack at 2011 syrup

I took the dogs up to the sugarhouse this morning — the snow is still deep enough that it’s hard to find a good place for a long walk that doesn’t involve snowshoes.  We did a nice loop up through the sugarbush, on trails that Fraser and his tapping crew have packed down for us.  (A good time was had by all!)

On the way back, I stopped in to the sugarhouse and found Fraser getting things ready for another boiling session.  Sap is running, even...

2011 Sugar Season

The 2011 sugar season is underway!

 

Good news / bad news

The good news:  the sap is running and boiling has begun!

The Sugarhouse, in full swing!

The bad news:  we had a wicked ice storm, and there’s been a bit of damage to the sugarbush.
 

A little ice on the lines themselves is no big deal.
 

But when the trees get a heavy load of ice — and get stressed by high winds (which also came with this storm) — things fall down.  And lines get damaged.
 

This isn’t anything new; every few seasons, nature throws a...