The Labels are on

Here are this year's labels.
We did the final boil in the house and ended up with exactly 2 gallons. The labels are on the jars and the jars are sitting on the island. I don't want to put them away yet--I like looking at them all sitting there. The syrup is great. It's dark this year, but I think it tastes better than light syrup.

Maple Syrup!

We finished boiling down the sap tonight and bottled up the maple syrup. Only thing left to do is make some labels! The weather is colder today--maybe even in the teens over night. We might get some more sap.

Half Moon Boil

Tonight we boiled down the first batch of maple syrup. It was a beautiful evening--warm and calm. It may be the only one this year--the trees are already budding out and the temperature isn't getting below freezing at night. We finished the outside boil just before midnight--85 gallons down to 5. We'll finish it off on the stove. We had some tea with maple syrup in it before we went to bed. It was quite wonderful.

Spring Equinox!

Today is the equinox. Tom Lukens came over and helped John prune the fruit trees. They have sticks in them now to help them grow in the right direction. John also thinned out the raspberry patch. John was talking to Tom about the ants in the raspberries and he said they usually feed on aphids. And then, when John mentioned the peonies planted next to the raspberries, Tom said that the peonies were the culprit--responsible for the aphids and so the ants. We will need to move the peonies.

Robins return

Today John saw a flock of robins in the field. The temperatures have been warm--up in the fifties-- and the fields are almost empty of snow.

Start of a new year on Pierce Hill!

Maple syrup time feels like the beginning of a new year. Today John and Brendan put in the maple syrup taps. The snow is deep and the weather is still cold--down in the teens at night.

Within the light that out of worldwide heights
Would stream with power toward the soul
May certainty of cosmic thinking
Arise to solve the soul's enigmas
And focusing its mighty rays
Awaken love in human hearts