Conflicted
Some of us may be at times conflicted by natural processes. I bet I'm one of the few that wishes spring would hold off for a couple more weeks.
Conflicting Emotions
Who doesn't love spring? What's not to love - more daylight, warmer temperatures, arrival of migrating birds, and hints of flowers trying to poke out of frozen earth. This maple farmer is a bit conflicted. When I walk outside in the morning, I am filled with delight with the brightness of the day, the growing warmth, and the smells. This week on the farm we have all been noticing new birds arrive - today, "phoebe" showed up. There is no question that spring is a renewing and special time of year. Just this week, the frogs in the pond and the peepers (yes, the spring peepers) started calling. All this rebirth and re-emergence signals the coming end to sap production and our sugaring season. I luxuriated in the 60-degree temperatures and cursed it as well. Today, hopefully a reprieve as temperatures are in the 20s and it is expected to be cold all week. And those frogs, well, the hooded mergansers showed up this morning and are having a froggy feast!
We collect sap by the drop…
Collecting by the Drop
The thing I find most amazing about making maple syrup is that we are collecting sap by the drop. When we first started collecting sap by gravity to make syrup we had a saying that we collected it by the drop and spilled by the cupful. It can be easy to forget about the drops when you are on vacuum and you see the sap pouring in as though you just opened a huge faucet. And that's the thing right? Little things can add up to a lot. Despite sometimes collecting thousands of gallons of sap an hour, it pains me to spill even the tiniest amount. Truth is, you can't help but spill a little no matter how you collect or the size of your operation, no matter how hard you try not to. That saying sticks with me and makes us all take great care as we move sap from tree to evaporator because we are still collecting by the drop.
Sometimes it comes in like a faucet
Our Little Hilltown Crew
For the first time since we have owned the farm, everyone who works here lives in Worthington. Our all-Worthington crew has been wonderful to work and hang out with this year. I guess small, rural towns attract similar personalities because we have had a ton of fun working long, hard hours together. The great news is that this crew will be with us through the summer and going to markets too. Worthington might not be perfect, but it is pretty close!
After a long day, it is good to use up all those coals from the evaporator to make burgers from our neighbor's cows.
Come See Us
We will be at the Berkshire Grown Winter Market on April 19th.
Then it is outside markets for us.
The Amherst Farmer's Market starts April 20th.
The Connecticut Sheep, Wool and Fiber Festival is on April 26th at the North Haven Fairgrounds.
The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is on May 3 & 4, at the Howard County Fairgrounds
And the Great Barrington Farmer's Markets starts May 10th.
Phew!