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.
 

Ice on the lines (tubing)

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

A line damaged by falling limbs

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.
 

Stressed-out maple trees

This isn’t anything new; every few seasons, nature throws a monkey wrench in the works, and ice storms in New England are just part of nature’s variety.  Though these trees are looking pretty stressed, as long as nothing major breaks they’ll be OK.

And things are looking up:  walking the dogs this afternoon, we heard our first Red-Winged Blackbird!