Chaos in the Woods
It’s Just Weird
I am beginning to think that all the newsletters from now on are going to start with, “the weather has been a bit weird lately.” Mostly because the weather has been a bit weird lately. Although there are increasingly bigger bare spots, we still have over a foot of snow in most places. Last week, we got hammered with a Nor’easter. Over 36 hours, we got 28” of heavy, wet snow – and some high winds just to make things interesting. We lost many trees and branches but did maintain power and sanity. I have spent most of my life living in New England and this is one of the top 3 snowstorms that I have experienced. It took the town 2 days to plow us out and the work was just beginning. Storms and downed trees are a part of the deal, but it was particularly disappointing to have to deal with downed vacuum lines so late in the season since we were really feeling good about how everything was running. We needed most of the week to get back up and operational. We are boiling again and looking forward to a strong finish to the season.
Notice the one wearing snowshoes is still standing!
Chaos in the Woods
There is a section of woods that we tap that has a lot of huge pines that are pretty susceptible to high winds. We’ve spent a lot of time there this winter. I found myself rather speechless while looking at carnage after one windstorm and thought, “this is absolute chaos.” One tree had taken down another trees, that had taken down yet another tree. It reminded me of that old game pick-up-sticks. It always seems a little unfair to me when a big tree takes out a tree that is just minding its own business. There have been a lot of innocent by-standers this season and we have a lot of firewood for next season. As the saying goes, "nothing goes to waste."
One example of trees on the mainline
Still Sugaring
Despite the crazy that has been the 2023 sugaring season, we are still at it. While the timing of the season changes, one thing that has stayed pretty consistent is the number of boils. We generally boil about 25 times. We have boiled 20 times this year and are hoping to make the most of those remaining boils. We sold a lot of syrup last year and have already bottled the 2023 syrup. The dark robust is a beautiful amber and tastes delicious! The big push is on to finish the season strong and spend time in the kitchen because our first festival in only a month away.
The farm is beautiful and peaceful under the blanket of snow
Come See Us
Farmers markets and fairs and festivals are only a month or so away. Our season starts at the Connecticut Sheep, Wool, & Festival at the North Haven Fairgrounds on April 29th. We are really looking forward to being the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship on May 6th & 7th. Our local farmers markets start in late April and eraly May. Come visit us at the Amherst and Great Barrington Farmers Markets until mid November. Check out our website for where to find us.