Quick Update: A blustery winter’s day followed by a good freeze last night set up the maples for a hard sap run today. At 11pm the run is scarcely letting up. As March’s Worm Moon rose we embarked on morning chores which can’t wait until morning. We lined up crew for early morning, all-day, and… Read More
Sugarhouse Chicken
If the crew is boiling at suppertime they fill their bowls in the front room when they can snatch a moment. The stoker retreats to the back side of the evaporator where there is a counter to sit on if the fire has just been stoked or to rest one’s bowl on if she must… Read More
Weathering the Thaw
WEATHER: Sunny, calmWarm then hot –Smell of earth Hotter eachday, hottereach nighttime Coolness flowsoff the brook,ice is out No thunderof snow meltdown the brook Nor flood ofspring runoff –Little fuss. HOW’S IT RUNNING? Since Saturday the run has choked off just once, on Monday night (low 24). On two nights the temp at the sugarhouse… Read More
The Talk of the Sugarhouse
Woodshed ChroniclesPoet Chatter Aud Coty pulls on leather gloves, opens the French doors into the woodshed, loads her arms with chunks of wood, walks into the sugarhouse and drops them on the woodpile by the firebox. She’s wearing a navy wool sweater many sizes too large over jeans patched on the knees. A visitor with… Read More
Vernal Equinox Update
Here is a quick update on the status of sugar season. WEATHER: March 15: Frozen.March 16: Frozen.March 17: High 46 and sunny. Overnight low 34.March 18: High 40 and drizzly. Overnight low in the teens.March 19: Frozen. Sharp wind. March 20: High mid 40’s and sunny. Low tonight will probably be in the 20’s. Forecast… Read More
Everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day
Maple Trout Lilli, who is Irish every day of the year, writes: IRISH SODA BREADThe savory herbs in this bread go well with butter and a soft cheese. This is a basic recipe, enabling you, the baker, to substitute a cup of oat flour for whole wheat or exchange herbs to basil, thyme and oregano. Eat crusty and… Read More
A Pilgrim Run
WEATHER: The heat of the thaw hit on Wednesday and Thursday, 3/10-3/11. Wednesday’s high was 48 in the shade, Thursday’s was 56. Nights were mild; the wind blew from the south, turning around to the north on Friday 3/12 as temps dropped to below freezing by evening. HOW’S IT RUNNING? The sap run eventually picked… Read More
Traveling with dogs or trees
“Mushers like to travel at night when it’s colder and the trail is firm,” says the video host, reporting from a checkpoint on the Iditarod https://iditarod.com/. Possibly because I have not traveled, in the sense of taking a trip, for a long while, this past week I signed up to follow the Iditarod. Sugar season… Read More
Multi-seed Maple Cracker
Studying this photo, you can see the pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame seeds but not the little ones, the poppy seeds and chia. Nor can you see the rosemary. It’s the obscure ingredients that enliven this cracker without calling any attention to themselves. Of course, the one tablespoon of maple syrup does its part. Note the… Read More
The Pot That Never Boils
On Sunday morning Chief of Operations wrote: Sunday’s Threelittle (Tri-Cube) Corner:[Three syllables per line; three lines per stanza; three stanzas per poem] Connect hoseto the nextby the shed. Pull back thenpush til thefitting clicks. Takes strength, takesfinesse, takesrepeating. ——— Write to meof March orthe full moon. Write to meof drizzleor blossoms. Write to mebecause Iam… Read More
The Nebraska Knoll Blog 