Iskigamigee-giizis

Welcome, April.

Crew member Ana shared with us that the Ojibwe of the Great Lakes region call each month a “moon.”
March is Onaabani-giizis, or hard crust on the snow moon;
April is Iskigamigee-giizis, or maple sugar moon.

For more on Ojibwe sugaring from a child’s perspective: .)https://www.glifwc.org/publications/pdf/Iskigamizigan_Supplement.pdf

Weather: Nothing to alarm a sugarmaker. Sun, clouds, snow, hail, rain, wind.  In the past week there have been a few freezing nights and a few nights in the 30’s. Daytime temps have drifted either side of 40. The buds won’t pop just yet if these cooler temps persist.

How’s it Running? Fair, but the sap adds up.

Boiling Status: Daily short boils for 9 days, a day off on Monday, then another short boil today, Day Twenty.

Seven-Day Niter Primer, Day Four: Backyard sugarmakers, tapping just a few trees, may filter out the niter with cheesecloth draped over a colander. A more sophisticated apparatus is the filter tank. This tank is a high, rectangular metal box. Inside, three thick felt cones hang from a frame, like upside-down dunce caps. You line the felt cones with paper filters and fasten them to the felt cones with clothes pins. Then you pour the pail of hot syrup into one of the cones and close the lid. You hear the plunk-plunk as drops of syrup strike the bottom of the tank.

Notable Maples:

Music to Boil By:

The soundtrack to the movie The Darjeeling Limited  (2007)
Green Sky Bluegrass
OutKast
Deolinda