Backwards

If you recall, January had us a bit worried. It was warm, really warm. The pond had not frozen and there was no snow. Trying to time when to start sugaring is becoming increasingly difficult. We want to catch those early runs, but not so early that we are not making great syrup as the seasons winds down. The good news is that we think we timed things just right this year. We have made 600 gallons of beautiful, amber syrup. As I type this, we are shut down because, well, it's winter here on the farm. I was talking to a fellow farmer the other day and he said, "it feels backwards, February felt like March and now March looks like February." We'll take it. The long range forecast looks great for syruping - cold nights and warmer days. We look forward to getting back in the sugarhouse and making great syrup!

It finally looks like winter on the farm.

A Rocky Start

The beginning of sugaring season always brings anticipation and stress. This year was no different. As I said, we are always trying to time tapping just right to get those early runs, but not too early. Although some operations are tapping as early as November now that winters are milder, we still believe that trees produce good sap for 6-8 weeks. We also believe that the sap we collect is what the trees are able to give and still thrive and grow. We will never be November tappers. It is important to us that our trees thrive and create good habitat for wildlife. 

Our syrup is a beautiful amber and Kodi wants you to know all about it!

This year, we got our timing perfect. Our taps were in, the sap was flowing and we were ready to get started. Now, to say that sugaring has become a bit automated from the days of buckets and open fires, would be an understatement, and with that automation, things can and do go wrong. We turned on our pumps, but our releasers would not release. It seemed that we blew not one, but two, Variable Frequency Devices, or VFDs. We quickly discovered that a non-functioning VFD is a BFD! Replacement set us back a day and our first boil happened on the 11th. We also blew a capacitor, you know the one that sits 1 inch off the ground in the very back of the reverse osmosis machine where it is impossible to get to, but we quickly fixed that too. Rocky start or not, we'll take it. Ten boils in and we have a quiet rhythm to collecting, boiling and bottling. Here's to 2023!

The air smells so sweet when we are boiling.