Last Sunday I went to a gathering for the newly formed Richford Woodlots. Woodlots is a small piece of the bigger Cold Hollow to Canada program which is a piece of a bigger pie called the largest temperate forest in the world. It’s a pretty good pie to be a nibble in!
Creating a balance of producing the highest quality maple syrup and protecting our forest landscape is our priority.
I have spent two mornings this week learning more about my own backyard through educational programs provided by Cold Hollow to Canada. Friday was the first walk for a citizen science project – Birder Broker in conjunction with Vermont ebird. Birder Broker pairs land owners with experienced birders. We will go a total of three times this year and potentially again next year. The route takes us on about a mile walk starting at my house then past the sugarhouse to the Bliss field, from there we enter the song bird patch cut we completed this spring. After passing through the patch cut we will complete our loop in the pine forest next to Lucas Brook. All bird species are counted but our priority are migratory songbirds. Yesterday we saw an olive backed thrush, heard oven birds, several warblers and vireos. We also came across a nice size black bear print.
This morning we had our quarterly gathering of the Richford Woodlots. My neighbor Greg hosted us on his property for a nature walk through his pollinator field and a search for the elusive salamanders. The pollinator field was full of early, mid and late plants, such as spirea, milk weed and various grasses. Some of the pollinators we found were native bees, butterflies and beetles. Greg has planted several varieties of trees for successional growth such as cedar, butternut and red oak.
Our walk then took us to a spring brook (it’s only a brook when there’s plenty of water). We managed to find a couple of salamanders in the brook itself. The biggest problem we had in looking for salamanders was our distraction level by everything around us. We learned that “sedges have edges, rushes are round and grasses have knees that bend to the ground”. That’s just an example of why I love these gatherings – the learning. I felt the edges that create a triangle on the stem of a sedge, next time I will know what sedge is.
I also learned why trees have knees! I have shared pictures of trees – mostly yellow birch with “knees”. They start with a yellow birch seed that takes root on top of an old stump. As the tree continues to grow the roots grow over the stump into the ground. As they mature more roots cover the stump but the stump is composting itself back into the soil, when the stump is fully gone – the tree remains as it formed over the stump leaving “knees”.
Follow us on Instagram for more pictures from the field!
Check out Cold Hollow to Canada to learn more about conservations activities we have going on!
Bird DIva will be teaching slow birding techniques in our Bird Friendly Maple Habitat
Sugaring season 2019 is over and done. Our goal was 25 barrels and we made 35 so we’re very happy with the year! It was a learning year for both my nephew Blaine and myself – and actually for my other nephew Andy and my son Ian. Blaine and I did most of the boiling but the other boys stepped up when one of us couldn’t be there. The days when we had 4 generations at the sugarhouse were the best!
Our Maple Syrup is stored in 40 gallon stainless steel barrels. When we finish filling a barrel, we take a sample and keep written records of the day it was made and the grade of the syrup. We keep a full range of container sizes available for packing orders (half pint through gallon). When our shelves run low we open a barrel of whichever grade we need – Amber Delicate, Amber Rich or Amber Robust to refill our shelves.
Our days aren’t quite as hectic as they were a couple of weeks ago, but there’s still plenty to do. The spouts have all been pulled but we still have clean up of the pans and the Sugarhouse plus all the firewood needs to be split and the woodshed refilled. We would like to add on a few more hundred taps for next year.
Also this spring we will be doing some erosion control in conjunction with the NRCS office.
Myself – now that sugaring is done – I just want a little warmer weather! The snow is finally all gone, but it’s been wet and cool. I’m itching to turn over some dirt and plant a few seeds – but I just have to wait.
Check out the Mother’s Day sales on our website!
Happy Spring! Think warm thoughts!
