Crocus bud
I blinked – I swear that’s all I did and sugaring season is done for 2015. Well almost done – Dave and Blaine have finished boiling in all the sap now we just have to clean the rig, refill the woodshed, wash the lines, pull the spouts, wash the tanks and haul the syrup we’re going to wholesale. Hmmm – all before they head back to their regular jobs. I do happen to have two teenagers that won’t be suffering from boredom during April vacation!
2015 didn’t produce as much syrup as 2014, but we also didn’t buy as much sap as we did last year. Blaine is in the process of adding more lines and taps so next year we can make more. Plus he’s moving his lines to a new sugarbush closer to home so we can buy from him again. Lots of things went well this year – we had a very good crew working. The new equipment at the sugarhouse worked better than I thought it would. Now on to finishing my canning room- the only thing in the way is the guys want the RO room finished – hmmm I can hope for both!
Tomorrow is the chosen day to pull spouts – sounds like we’re going to have lots of help (that also probably means I should pull out something for lunch!) We use a spout puller or a hammer to remove each spout from the tree. This allows the tree to begin healing itself. It also allows us to clean the lines by draining all the old sap from them.
This may sound like a tedious task but I actually enjoy it – it’s such a pleasure to walk in the woods this time of the year – no snow to trudge through and a brief window before black-fly season begins. Plus I’m always enchanted with spring flowers – first are the silky gray pussywillows growing along the edge of the fields, next are the tiny yellow, white and purple violets tucked into the roots of the giant maples, then come the delicate pink and white mayflowers. The next flowers are yellow striped adder’s-tongues then the bold red or white trillium.
Silly showing off the new veggie trug
These all give me a sense of hope and enthusiam – I dream of how perfect my own flower beds and gardens are going to be. I said I dream – right now my rows are straight and perfectly mulched, the peas, beans, clematis and morning glories are climbing their trellises to reach the sun. My rows are so perfectly mulched that weeding is a chore done in minutes. It’s definitely time to change things up in the garden – I’m mentally moving my vegetables between my main garden and my box beds. I think I may need another box bed my vegetables are going to be so bountiful! My boys took pity on me and put together my new veggie trug! Oh sorry where was I ? – oh yeah pulling spouts and splitting firewood – did I mention spring blooms eternal hope?
Pussywillows in the early morning light
