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
Things Furling and Unfurling
The unfurling began in earnest three days ago when the sun came out and sweatshirts came off, and wool hats, too. The unfurling, that is, of the baby maple leaves, all brown and red and wrinkly to begin with. As spring green creeps up the hillside, first bedecking the Old Bush and currently coloring in… Read More
Throwback Thursday Recipe
While the crew fills the woodshed and the trout lilies thrust into bloom on the forest floor, our food correspondent Maple Trout Lilli offers her Pièce de Resistance du Printemps 2019. She writes: Spring is here, the grass is greening up and our wonderful local farmers up the road have been harvesting their spinach that… Read More
Scraping Across Centuries
On this fortieth day of the season of Lent, the most quiet day of the year in the Christian calendar, the day between Good Friday and Easter, I will reprint an entry from the 2010 Sugar Season Blog. The Far Corner of the Sugarhouse: As you enter the sugarhouse – just you – to the… Read More
April 18th: Wrapping Up
A Chronicle of the Last Day of Boiling: I’m sitting on a stool by the back pan feeling cozy on a chilly day. Ross is tending the finish trough, Sam is whistling to a silly song playing on the CD, I fell into the sap today….while scraping wood scraps toward the firebox with a shovel,… Read More
April 13th: All Thaw News
“It’s time to put on your big boy pants and get zesty,” said an Iditarod musher to a flailing musher he overcame on a particularly grueling stretch of trail. ‘Tis. WEATHER: The Turn. The thaw began on Thursday. Thursday night it dropped to 32 at the sugarhouse. Friday it climbed to 45. Friday night stayed… Read More
Maple Whiskey Pudding Cake – oh my is it good
Maple Trout Lilli writes: MAPLE WHISKEY PUDDING CAKES These wonderful desserts bake up with a gooey sauce beneath a layer of rich, tender cake. There are a few steps involved, but the result is so worth the 20 minutes of prep. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream. Do not stir the maple-whiskey… Read More
April 9th Hill Report
Woodsmaster Ross writes: “I hope the snow isn’t too soft out there,” she said. “Nah, should be fine,” I replied. “May not even need the tails on the snowshoes.” WRONG! Ten steps into the woods and I was wishing for those longer snowshoes. Of course, the higher I climbed in the sugarwoods, the worse it… Read More
April 8th Update
WEATHER: Since the April 4th post, the nighttime lows have ranged from 30-33, the daytime highs from 33-40 except for yesterday’s high of 46 or so. Today the temp hovered at 34 while sleet stung the face. In the tug-of-war between winter and summer, winter is currently tugging harder. The dreaded precipitous April thaw hasn’t… Read More
A Good Sap Run at Last
QUICK UPDATE: We got a good run starting Tuesday afternoon. We boiled yesterday, Wednesday, from 5am to midnight. The RO has been processing sap night and day. This evening we are still boiling leftover sap. Last night it froze and barely cleared 32 all day. Tonight it is freezing much harder; it’s the last freezing… Read More
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 