We tasted our first syrup of the season today.  There was a very short run of sap from our trees on Sat/Sun. just after Kevin tapped most of them, so we ended up with about 5 gallons of sap.  It was not enough to boil on our outside set up, so we boiled it last night and today in the kitchen.  Luckily we had a dumping of 2 feet of snow as well over the last day or so and school was cancelled for Kevin and the boys today (Kevin is much better than me at finishing the sap, it gets a little tricky at the end.)

Oh how I love the first syrup of the season.  It is amazingly gratifying to know that this sweet delicacy came from trees on our property and it truly imparts in us an understanding of how much work it is to make this stuff.

Kevin and I love maple sugaring open house weekend where lots of producers from small to large open up there sugar shacks to visitors for tastings, sugar on snow, other tasty maple treats and just to jaw about their business/ or hobby.  One year I think we bought 4 gallons from different places (at $40 or so a gallon, it was an expensive weekend for us) then at home we put each in tasting glasses and compared each sugar bush.  I loved how they all had their own unique bouquet.  There is such a sense of magic to sugaring for me.  The thawing of the juices in the trees that make the sap flow on those warm days with cold nights.  I just love it!

OK as if today being the first day of our syrup production wasn’t enough,  our chickens decided it would be the first day of full production for them!  We’ve been getting 7 eggs a day for about 2 months now and finally with eight chickens we finally got all 8 eggs today.

So if anyone in the area is looking to buy some fresh eggs, let me know, our chickens are ready to earn their keep!!