Chief of Operation writes: Notes from a couple of memorable days of sugaring during the final week of March. March 27/28 March 29 6” snow last night, skied close to 2,000’ vertical through fresh powder from top of Morningside Ridge above our south-side sugarbush in the morning, slept all afternoon, temperature too cold most of… Read More
The Post-It Wall
Chief of Operations writes: —LC BONUS submission from Chops:
Maple Spiced Popcorn
QUICK UPDATE: On the Popcorn Scale, weather that’s good for munching popcorn is a 10, and weather that’s suitable for non-popcorn pleasures – let’s say opening one gate valve and closing another, or hosing down a sap tank, or trotting up and down stairs to and from the sap shed to monitor the sap run… Read More
Finally we’re at it
WEATHER: What a week. Sudden heat and many warm nights dissolved the pristine winter of 2025. HOW’S IT RUNNING? Two night-and-day runs, March 14-17 and March 18-20 were separated by a freezing night on the 17th. A freeze today, the 21st, and a forecast of a series of moderate freeze-thaw cycles are just what we… Read More
Sugarhouse Pretzels with Maple Mustard
Some afternoons, neighbors stop by the sugarhouse with snacks or treats. When Maple Trout Lilli walks in we know the treat will be sublime – and something new to us since MTL is the Food Correspondent for the blog. She writes: Sugarhouse Pretzels with Maple Mustard These homemade, fresh, soft pretzels are buttery soft in… Read More
The Beauty Tour
QUICK UPDATE 3/13: It’s happening: thaw weather and sap runs. Today commences a multi-day thaw. We don’t relish the forecast of temps in the 50’s or 60’s with no freezing nights. It could be a year when all the sap comes at once. THE BEAUTY TOUR On tapping days and tubing-maintenance days the woods crew… Read More
Let it Run
WEATHER: Wednesday, March 5th brought an all-day drizzly rain. The temp rose from an overnight 32 degrees to 40 degrees and dropped back into the mid-30’s last night. Today, Thursday, the forecasted high is mid-40’s and the low tonight 20. HOW’S IT RUNNING? At 11am on Wednesday Freedle said, “The cold rain don’t cut it.”… Read More
Yankee Ingenuity: The Tubing Tool
Chief of Operations writes: Tool Rightness Both tools get the job done, though which is most efficient has become a matter of unresolved debate. The original that I have been using for forty years is still my favorite. It is made to push maple tubing onto barbed fittings, and seems to have been designed by… Read More
Ode to an Avalanche Shovel
Chief of Operations writes: And Jenn writes: Ode to an Avalanche Shovel It is amazing how luxurious an avalanche shovel is. With deep snow piling up for weeks and buried lines being dug out with mitted hands, backs of hammers, or the little folding saw…I was quite thrilled to be handed a small blue and… Read More
That’s a Wrap on the Taps
WEATHER: Let’s generalize about the weather of the months since sugar season 2024.May, 2024. Dry.June, 2024. Some severe storms.July, 2024. Severe storms. In the wee hours of July 11th, in a flash flood, Falls Brook breached the culvert at the upper crossing and destroyed the road, leaving a trench lined with glacial till. This event… Read More
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 