It's a bright, cold day at the farmette. A LOT of frost on the ground, on the roofs and coating the car. But it's SUNNY!!!!
The Americans have lost the democratic plot with two young black men who are elected politicians being ejected from the Tennessee legislature, and two judges in two different states rendering opposite decisions on whether an abortion pill that's been approved by the FDA for 20 years could be dispensed to women who need it. Yikes.
But here, life goes on, and, until a week ago, the sap still needed collecting. Last Saturday, I got ambitious and called over to the Thorntons to see if I could lend a hand. Sandy's text back was a definite YES with lots of exclamation points. It was the final gathering, and everyone over there was getting a bit maple syrup fatigued. They'd already done up many, many litres of the amber sweetness over the past weeks.
Thankfully, the two, ahem, older sisters had a young, robust 24-year-old Erin to do the dumping into the big tank.
It was another cold, but bright sunny morning, and the bush was looking its best for this time of year.
The snow was still hanging around, although there was an awful lot of mud. But Gertie, the side-by-side came through. This year, they added a wooden skid to make collecting the sap from the trees a bit more efficient.
There was a lot of sap in every bucket - about 2/3 to 3/4 full, so the arms and shoulders got a good workout.
The Thorntons have quite the maple syrup operation now...with a fancy new evaporator all tricked out on the cabin deck.
I wasn't around for the actual boiling, which took place on Sunday. I was just happy to do my part, and we're really enjoying my compensation for the work. A jar of high-quality Lady Bank Maples syrup.
In fact, I used some of it for the homemade baked beans we'll be taking back over to the Thorntons later today for a ham and scallops Easter feast with the extended family. Can't wait.
Gratuitous dog photo today. Sadie, wearing her currently favourite toy, courtesy of Erin.
Until next week.
