“It’s a comfort that my favorite spots are there every year, because there’s a timelessness to it. I’m literally walking in the footprints of my ancestors.” Sugarmakers at Hi Vue Farms secure sweet deal for wildlife
The Year of Building Character – 2021
This was certainly a year for building character – the hard way….this was it. All we can do is continue getting up every morning and put one foot in front of the other. Life on the farm continues on – which in it’s own way is comforting even if a little hard sometimes. Hubby (Matt)…
Farm News! Savoring Summer While We Can!
This morning I slipped on a long sleeved shirt before heading to work – just a reminder to savor summer as much as I can. We still have plenty of hot days left this season so try the” Vermonter ” – a yummy maple milkshake! My other summertime favorite is Maple Mint Sun Tea. Refreshing but not too sweet! Recipe coming soon! Here’s a quick rundown on farm news this summer!
We Love Visitors!
This summer we’ve been working on cleaning up the farm and the sugarhouse – it’s it crazy how fast piles accumulate?! We’re in the process of creating a 3rd camp site – this one to make it easier for even the largest RV’s to park here. Did you know you can stay at the farm? We use both Hipcamp and Harvest Host. We love having visitors!
Forest News
Now that nesting season is over for the migratory songbirds, we have begun cutting a small section of woods between our place and Dad’s. The goal is to add 2-300 more taps. We lost a lot of taps (and trees) from the tent forest caterpillars a few years ago so we need to add on a few. The trees being cut will primarily become firewood with a few logs that we can sell to the local mills. The remaining trees will have more room to expand and grow. Our cutting procedures are in line with recommendations from our forester in accordance with our forest management plan. We are consciously working to maintain a healthy eco system while we produce high quality maple syrup!
Farm News
The toils of Springtime are paying off – we’ve had an abundant crop of blueberries 🫐 – love Blueberry Muffins with Maple Crumb topping! The veggies are coming fast now and canning and freezing will begin this week. The meat birds are processed and in the freezer. The layers are in full production. I also seem to have an abundant crop of pet call ducks 🤔. At least they’re cute!
Mind Your Beeswax! (And your bees!)
The bees are doing great this year! We did have a period where I stayed away from them – the wild fires from out west affected our air quality and the poor bees were upset. They told me so one day – 41 times – yes I got stung 41 times while requeening one of my hives. Luckily only one bothered my on my hand – the rest were gone within days! This year I successfully requeened a hive and I’ve created 2 “nucs”. A nuc is a new colony of bees that will become a production hive next year if they make it though the winter. I’m using local queens to create a hardy bee colony that’s adapted to the farm. Currently in at 3 production hives and 2 nucs and an ongoing learning experience. Bees are fascinating creatures- the more I learn the more amazing they become!
Committed to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions
We are a Carbon Offset Farm!
It’s official – we are committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions as a Carbon Offset Farm! What does this mean? It means that we have made a commitment to our forest to maximize the amount of carbon offset our trees can produce. Hi Vue Maples has joined a partnership with fellow landowners in the Cold Hollow Mountains of Vermont to preserve our forest and farm land as a collective whole to reduce and store carbon dioxide emissions (Green House Gases) caused in other parts of the country and world.
We do this by “sequestering” (capturing and storing) greenhouse gases with our trees and crop land. The healthier forest we have – the more carbon is stored. Trees store carbon by photosynthesis – they take carbon from the atmosphere and convert it into carbon based sugars to fuel their tissues.
Stewardship
What’s a healthy forest and why do we qualify? Stewardship – my family has taken care of our farm for generations. Our goal throughout the years has been to create quality maple syrup while taking care of the land.
How we take care of the land
- encouraging as many varieties of trees as possible
- watching for invasive species
- selectively cutting trees for logs and firewood
- maintaining wildlife habitats
Our farm covers 400 plus acres – 200 of which is our maple sugar bush. The remaining 200 consist of fields used for agriculture purpose and multi-use forest. We have created high quality bird habitat in this area to increase our migratory songbird habitat. These steps that began a 100 plus years ago has allowed us to transition to a carbon offset farm with no major changes, just a deep rooted future commitment to keeping our farm as healthy as possible to help the world reach the goal of net zero.
Partnerships
This project was the undertaking of the local conservation group Cold Hollow to Canada (CHC) – who’s goal is to preserve 23,000 acres in the Cold Hollow Mountain Range by 2030. Programs such as carbon offset are some of the ways CHC can help landowners preserve the forested lands in our area. Preserving the Cold Hollow region supports wildlife corridors, critical bird habitat and supports rural communities. The Vermont Land Trust (VLT) has partnered and been instrumental in creating this Carbon Offset Program.
2021 Maple Harvest in Vermont
Harvest season has come and gone for 2021 here on the farm.
