I must admit in some ways – things have not changed as much around here – we already are pretty isolated and agriculture must go on. Sugaring comes and goes according to what the trees tell us. We were able to do most of our tapping in February and began boiling the 3rd of March. We finished boiling last Sunday. We had a good year – made a full crop and a little bit of everything – Delicate, Rich and Robust.
(hint – pour Maple Syrup over your ham as you bake it – TRUST me)
One thing that was different was no visitors and we missed that. Most of our days boiling are done with only myself or one or two others but we usually have a visitor or two drop in when they seem the plume of steam rising from the stacks. We always have a few days when we have a crowd, and I missed the stories and laughter. It will come again – we’ll have another year with our friends and family.
For now we move on – I began pulling spouts this week. We have a few plans for the sugarhouse moving ahead. There’s the pole barn for the tractors that has sadly tipped over that needs to be fixed this year. Inside the sugarhouse we are going to move our Reverse Osmosis(R.O) into the tank room we built 2 years ago. Also the rinse tank that goes to the R.O. will be moved to the tank room. The floor in the old rinse tank room needs replacing and prep work will begin to that room to convert it to an office and packaging room for me. Redoing the outside walls is also on the list. In the woods we will be adding another 500 taps and reworking some of our existing main lines.
This will be the 2nd year for the bird patch and I’m working on making walking paths and sitting areas within the patch. I am also going to begin work on my future apple orchard and apiary. It will be right next to the bird patch and the first step will be clearing around the exisiting old apple trees that are there. The old apple trees used to go with Bliss Farm which is where the bird patch is.
We are also excited about a developing Carbon Offset program through Cold Hollow to Canada and we’re almost ready to become a Conserved farm through the Vermont Land Trust.
Just remember we don’t appreciate the warmth of the spring sun unless we’ve experienced the cold of a winter’s night.
We wish you all a Happy Easter and pray for your Health.
