This maple syrup season has given me whiplash. The first 2 weeks had little flow. The last 2 has been a flood. We don’t have room in the fridge so Stacey turned our biggest snowbank into a makeshift cooler. It’s melting.

And since I don’t want this to look like a post advertising seltzer, I’m including a picture of me, 18 years ago, giving a presentation in a fake sugar shack complete with an ancient evaporator. And yes, there are a lot of pink winter clothes. 😂

#MapleSugaring #MapleSyrup

Finished up and bottled my second small batch of Maple syrup. This batch is much lighter in color than the first, I think because it was mostly boiled at a lower temperature on a hot plate. #MapleSyrup #MapleSugaring
Likely a break from boiling for a bit given large amounts of snow currently falling outside.
238 gallons of 2.1% sugar sap in 18 hours off 137 taps. Hell of a run. Had just enough transport storage for my remote trees. #maplesyrup #maplesugaring
#maplesugaring #maplesyrup
Been itching to get at the equipment and have everything to go maybe late next week. All the equipment will need to be cleaned with a chlorine sanitizer and rinsed well, the pails, covers, spiles, bulk storage.....etc. Our daytime highs are not above zero yet, but possibly in another couple weeks things will be looking better in that regard. This image was from last year when we did not have much snow.

For anyone doing #MapleSugaring at home, I got my first sap drips this morning. 39° F / 4° C.

#MapleSyrup

Stacey tapped our sugar maple on Wednesday in anticipation of the “warmer temps.” Ahem. The tree is like a teenager trying to get out of bed in the morning for school.

Could be a few days/week before we see the first drips of sap.

#MapleSugaring #MapleSyrup

And since I myself live in a northern climate, have some old-timey syrup labels, courtesy of Five Rivers Environmental Center, in Delmar, NY #MapleSugaring #MapleTapping
Not complaining, but let's be honest: the agricultural countryside of #Vermont often looks far better than it smells.

One delightful seasonal exception occurs during the visually unspectacular #MudSeason of early spring, when the sweet steam of cooking #maple sap is nearly everywhere in the state. (This is soon followed by the other stunning exception: lilac season.)

Looking north from #WhitingVT
#MapleSugaring