Maple sugaring, season 2

We are ramping up again for our second season of Maple sugaring. With perfect weather ahead:

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And based on a UVM study, I tend to prefer tapping early even with the chance of cold snaps as Winter & Spring figure out who the new boss is. Essentially from what I gather, you can’t tap too early but you can tap too late. I also really like the taste of early flow and the season is spread out in more manageable chunks of labor.

This sled is proving to beĀ invaluableIMG_8163

The wife & kid are traveling but the neighbors are here to helpIMG_8165

Cleaning the tanks and buckets takes a long while, it’s amazing we did it last year without a well for water.IMG_8170

It takes a lot of work to get everything ready, we will apply a lot of lessons learned last year. I uncovered the evaporator and didn’t even have to kick out a raccoon.

Traveling Wood

With decent snow, a new chainsaw, a large sled and the recently discovered “tire splitting” technique, we’ve been amassing a large quantity of wood.

Here’s what getting it home looks like, I’ve been working on 4 poplars which domino’d onto one another during the last surprise wind storm.

The sled & ATV combo is also a great way to move children around.

Ice blocks for the fridge

Taking advantage of some very cold nights to make some ice for the fridge. Big blocks like these keep through a few warm days. Eventually we’ll want a way to make a lot more ice and a place to keep it underground, the hope it that it would keep through the Summer.

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IMG_7980We cut pieces with a hatchet.