Crew member Ana writes: Getting this long awaited dispatch was no easy feat; the only way to get my brain into work mode was with a hard deadline. Our sugar season could use a hard deadline as well. But as Lew says, “We will be waiting with bated breath.” I found an old interview that… Read More
Count the Pails
For a while, the pail resting here on the plank stores sap for brewing coffee with.This pail, or bucket, hangs from a maple tree named Maggie. Sap drips into it; it holds sap.This other pail is for collecting sap from the bucket and lugging it to the sap tank. A green hose for rinsing sap… Read More
The Post-It Wall
Chief of Operations writes: —LC BONUS submission from Chops:
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
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
Out the Door 2025
Dear Reader,The years turn, the seasons turn, sugar season returns. Once again this blog will jump into the cycle of the maple tree’s life, and the sugarmaker’s year, at tapping time. It’s Year 46 of sugaring at Nebraska Knoll.
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 