Late Spring Update from the Homestead, Part I
It has been almost 8 weeks since I made a post, and I offer my humblest apologies; really, there has been little to write home about. Well okay, perhaps, just maybe, that is a not entirely true statement. Actually, the homestead has been a veritable hive of activity, in fact our life has been very busy over the past several weeks, and that level of activity seems likely to continue into mid-June. And, it is wearing on me a bit that I have two blog posts to complete, “Warré Bee Hive Construction – Part II,” and “Winter 2013/2014: Lessons in Hardening Homestead Electrical, Potable Water, and Heating Systems.” I will get to those eventually, promise.
Meanwhile, I will start where I left off, at the last post containing
homestead content, which was in late March, 26 March to be precise. The weekend of 29 March offered the opportunity to evaporate yet more sap to the state of delicious maple syrup. The yield was 16 cups of syrup. While we stopped collecting sap on the 6th of April because temperatures were routinely staying above the freezing mark, and because sap had largely ceased flowing as a result, the business of evaporation continued through the weekend of April 12th; at that point there was no more snow to maintain the sap for extended periods of time without refrigeration. In fact, we still have about 30 gallons of sap in the chest freezer awaiting processing. We learned a great deal about maple sugaring this season, and I hope to be able to expand the operation significantly next year. Our first season was great fun, and allowed us to connect with so many people while engaging in such a traditionally American endeavor; we will treasure the memories. Read more