

The snow changed



Earlier this April Chief of Operations wrote: The world is being consumed by a pandemic while the trees on our knoll are producing the most sap I have ever witnessed in one season. The virus barged in on the coattails of sugar season with the same chaotic rush and heartless disregard for whether you were… Read More
The 2020 bumper crop is in. As we scurry to pull taps and scrub pans, it’s good to pause, step back, and take the long view. Our crew member and guest blogger Morgan Perlman writes: The Forest Meets the Sugarhouse Once everything in the sugarhouse is cleaned in the morning, we get the boiling started… Read More
Chief of Operations writes: QUICK UPDATE March 28th: There’s no time to elaborate. We boiled well into the wee hours and are right back at it. In short: sap, sap, and more sap; playing “tank tag” which involves redirecting the sap into various holding tanks every little while to fill them up to the max… Read More
Guest blogger Bob Page writes: A simple summary of the three laws of thermodynamics and the fight against entropy. First Law: You can’t win. Second Law: You can’t even break even. Third Law: You can’t get out of the game. It’s been two years since I volunteered to help out at Nebraska Knoll during emergencies… Read More
Through my twenties, when I struggled to figure out where – if anywhere – I fit into this world, I envied trees because they knew their place. It didn’t matter the tree as long as it was deciduous and healthy. I don’t know why I never considered being a spruce or balsam fir. I envied… Read More
—Of all the things to worry about today, that’s low on the list, said Chief of Operations. She had complained that the wood chunks for stoking the fire were all hardwood one day and all softwood the next. The ideal stoke is a blend of the two, the softwood (spruce in this case, harvested… Read More
Weather: In the past week we got two freeze/thaw cycles followed by a cold Saturday. Today, Sunday, A Mighty Thaw (The Mighty Thaw?) got going. At 7pm it’s in the mid-forties and most likely won’t freeze for several days. This forecast is not ideal, it’s intimidating. How’s It Running? Those freezing nights last week triggered… Read More
Tapping. Then right away, scrubbing tanks, setting up the pans, shoveling, prepping the RO and the vacuum pump. I could go on. But right away, a run. Then right away, boiling. Then a few cold days to say, ahhh, we’ve survived the first run. Now a forecast for a repeat of the first run, only… Read More
Same late February light, Same rattling of beech sapling leaves, Same maple trees, Same snowshoe route up the hill, Same brook to cross, Same tapping ritual, And the backpack with all the tools weighs the same. Late February light differs hour to hour, A new troop of beech leaves rattles this… Read More