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.
June
Ghazal ’Tis the Friday night of summer, is early June.Long after sunset, as twilight lingers, it’s clearly June. Five broad-leaved stalks hide among the day lilies;Lift a flap to witness Jack-in-the-Pulpit preaching June. The maple syrup of March tastes distinct each day Though it all tastes about the same come June. Grieving the browning of… Read More
The 2024 Epilogue in Photos
The 2024 Flower Show took place in front of the sugarhouse; it featured flowers common to Newfoundland which adorn this mug created by potter and crew member Jenn Galliott. From upper left moving clockwise the flowers are forget-me-not, violet, marsh marigold, and ???. [LC photo]
Eclipse Snippets
Here are words that strayed into the Blog Editor’s pocket notebook: Eclipse day morning, August 8th, 20249am, bluebirdDaylilies are 1″ tall.Quiet here after the sugar on snow party yesterdayThe event seems personal yet all these other people –We are millions.I want to experience the whoosh.What if something goes wrong?11am, inner excitement, don’t ask me to… Read More
Tracking and the Art of Seeing
Freedle Coty, who grew up roaming this mountainside and learning the ways of its inhabitants, submits these photos and captions. Tracking and the Art of Seeing: The arrival of a 4th major snowstorm to the Northeast since our season began inspired a rewind to mid-winter tapping in the sugar bush. Outside of the important woods… Read More
First Time Boiling! or Just on the Edge of Panic
Here is a journal entry from rookie crew member Jenn who, on her first day, took the risk of learning to draw syrup off the evaporator. Then she risked writing about it. Jenn writes: *****First time boiling!****** Important things I have already been told leading up to boiling: 1) Keep an eye on sap levels… Read More
And the Beat Goes On
WEATHER: The current pattern is this: About every 12 days a major snowstorm muffles the land, exciting much chatter, skier traffic, and plow truck sightings. In between storms there are a few sunny days, many drizzly 39-degree days, a few freezing nights, and many just-above-freezing nights. The battle between Sun and Frost drags on; it’s… Read More
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 