“Expect the unexpected.” “Expect nothing.” ******** The first boil taught me there are layers of expectations. What we thought we expected, and chatted about as we built up the fire in the arch: The filter press pump to work. (It did.) A novel crisis to bedevil the crew. (It did.) What we expected but didn’t… Read More

Weather: Tuesday, high in upper 40’s, overnight in 30’s; Wednesday around 40; currently 37 degrees at 11:30 pm. West wind (“Wind from the west, sap flows best”), mostly sunny. Picture perfect. How’s It Running? Steadily since Tuesday afternoon. Sap Sweetness: 1.2 % on Tuesday, 1.1% Wednesday. Weak indeed. Boiling Status: Fired up at 7 pm… Read More

Coast to coast, there’s no end to talking about the weather. Today I read in my brother’s local newspaper The Nome Nugget  that Alaska suffers from too much warmth and too little snow. The start of the Iditarod got moved from Anchorage to Fairbanks for only the second time in its 43-year run (the ceremonial start… Read More