Making syrup day 4

Oh how I wish we could package the beautiful smell of maple syrup cooking. It is wonderful. Very chilly day here, but we have the 1st evaporating pan boiling with a wood fire and the final boil on the gas burner. The jars are sterilized and waiting in the kitchen. 

                                                                            

                                                    

The evening of the 3rd day

   Beautiful fire, lots of steam.

Still boiling sap, day 3

The set up we started with wasn't boiling enough sap, so we needed to add another place to cook it. 

This means more wood to split.

                                                            

Boiling on the stove, but in a smaller kettle

                                                      

      At this stage, the liquid is getting sweeter and sticky. It's very clear to slightly Amber.

Making syrup

March 12th

Ready to cook, the stove is filled with wood, and were beginning to boil sap

Spring 2016

Tapping trees with the help of Laura and Aaron, March 5th.

Building a shelter for evaporating sap to syrup

Checking bags

20 years ago

This winter seems mild and pleasant, especially when we look back 20 years.

Kristin would be 15, Elizabeth 10, and Laura 5. And Mom- hmmmm 44. This was a super cold winter followed by the next winter of record snow fall. We were back grounding the calves, and feeding them X2 a day, a corn mixture to add weight. It's hard to add weight when the temperatures are so low as this. We, always kept at least one vehicle plugged in all the time along with the 4430 to feed hay and blow snow. We didn't loose any cattle or calves and were so excited to see spring arrive!

January 2016

Cold sub zero temperatures encourage us to work on some indoor projects. So the easiest was to order and hang pictures in the kitchen featuring agriculture. ( note the coffee stash from WinCo)