A Day of Gathering (by Ken)

Micaiah Checks the bucket for sap.

This morning started before 7AM.  Some eggs and toast for breakfast with the boys, then Micaiah and I went out to gather the sap from the twenty taps we have scattered around Murmur Creek Farm.  Mic was excited to help with this and last night even wondered if he should set his alarm so he wouldn’t miss it.  He worked hard gathering the sap in a bucket then pouring it into the milk cans.  We gathered around thirty-five gallons of sap (almost a gallon of syrup after boiling it down!).   Then went to the barn to feed the animals.  Good Job Mic!

 Pouring the sap into his pail.

Then to the milk can (that can be hauled on my truck to the boiling shed)

I took the milk cans with me to the Lyndaker Sugar Bush where three of us and a tractor driver (Vernon) gathered around 1,700 or so gallons.  I think that was about a 1,000 less than yesterday.  Just for some perspective: Micaiah and I filled 3.5 milk cans this morning, and at the sugar bush if we put the two days of gathering sap in milk cans we would have filled around 440 cans.  No wonder I’m tired!

Boiling underway - steam filling the air.  

The tractor hauls the tubs of sap that are being unloaded into the boiling shed.

Outside you see the barrels that will be filled with with syrup.

Looking into the evaporator as steam rises.

Its a wood fired evaporator - and it eats a lot of wood!

 looking at the evaporator with the fire doors wide open.

 Keeping that fire HOT!

It was a shorter day today since we finished collecting all that needed to be gathered.  When I got home I realized if I stopped moving I would just fall asleep so I worked on a small cabinet project (finished that...after going to two hardware stores), checked on the goats and chickens, then went out and split wood by hand until I finished a nice pile.  Now I’m spent!  Goodnight.  -Ken