Today our friend Jenn Galliott of Woody Point, Newfoundland left the Nebraska Knoll crew to return to Canada. Here are her drawings mingled with journal entries from February tapping days. I am told that coffee made from raw maple water is the best. As I drank my “maple syrup drenched” coffee from a thermos in… Read More
It’s the heart of the season
Here is a deluge of photos mirroring today’s deluge of sap. All photo credits go to LC, Chief of Operations.
Maple-Miso-Loaf-Cake
On Monday, the day of the blizzard, Maple Trout Lilli wrote: I keep my eye out all year long for maple recipes that sound, well not just okay, but really, really, good. I came across this recipe from Dorie Greenspan just the other day and decided I’d give it a go. Finding sweet inspiration in… Read More
Early March on Cruise Control
Here are notes from the log book: 3/3 Cold rain yesterday dampened run, no freeze last night, sunny morning, then clouded over. Run improved. 3/4 No freeze last night, cloudy, high in 40’s. 3/5 No freeze last night, another cloudy day in 40’s and rainy. 3/6 Broken record, plus constant rain. If only it would… Read More
March 8th Quick Update: Sap’s Running
If you live in northern Vermont you know the sun is out for the first time in many days.Oh joy. You know that the needle on the thermometer dropped below 32 degrees for the first time in many days. Oh joy.You murmur, The sap’s gotta be running today, as you open some windows in your… Read More
Maple Rye Bread
Welcome back, Maple Trout Lilli! Let’s see what maple innovations emerge this year from her cheery kitchen at the top of sixteen stone steps. She writes: When I woke this morning it was 11 degrees and sunny. While I waited for the temps to rise I decided today was the day for the first… Read More
Leap Day Update
WEATHER WHIPLASH is the colloquial term for wild swings in temperature. Take the past few days for example. Yesterday’s high was near 50 degrees F. and by this morning the thermometer read 10 degrees. Tree limbs felled by last night’s wind litter the skiff of new snow. By Sunday we’ll forget it was ever cold.… Read More
The Agony of a Buried Main Line
Chief of Operations writes: We always try to set time aside in late October/early November to do tubing maintenance before the first significant snowfall. It is so much easier to repair animal chews, uncover the lines from blowdowns, and lift them off the ground when the forest floor is bare. This year was particularly problematic… Read More
The Tapping Gambit
Chief of Operations writes: “How do you know when to start tapping?” they ask. If they only knew that I don’t know, but I do it anyway. It was so easy back in the day. The accepted wisdom was that if you were finished tapping by town meeting day (the first Tuesday in March), you… Read More
Ready or not, here it comes
Lots can – and did – happen in a week: The start of tree-tapping, a February thaw, the scrubbing of sap tanks, continued tapping, a sap run, setup of pans and equipment, and ongoing tapping. Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start. February 5th, First Day of Tapping “Gear explosion,”… Read More
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