The First Day of Planting (outside)

   Wow, two days in one week! Surprise!! Sorry that I can't figure out how to get the new syrup label on here. I cut and pasted and tried different methods...I'll keep trying. It is in my Publisher program - any ideas you design artists? Once again - computer - 1, Kris - 0!
   Yesterday was a whirlwind. I didn't feel like working since it was a typical true blue Monday. The day started out like today, dreary and misty and colder. But, it brightened up later. There was the usual paperwork, errands to the post and the bank, and laundry. I was determined after all that to get my act together and see what could be accomplished. And, that's when spring happened all over again.
   For us, spring begins when syrup does. That is when we see the trees pushing up all that energy to create leaves, drip by drip. And, the birds begin to arrive and hats are a necessity. Then a whole month after all of that, we see spring all over again.
   Now the grass is greening up. I got the picnic tables out...I KNOW - 'they' are still predicting a light snow this weekend, but what do 'they' know. Another sign of spring was on my way to the syrup house to scrub a little on the evaporator. I saw some trilliums unfurling their leaves along the woods trail. That was really a nice surprise. I'll try to get more wildflower pics later when they are really going good.
   The ducks are leaving little piles of eggs in the corners of their house. I hate to take them out and am hoping one of them will set on the eggs and hatch them out. But, I also need to clean the duck house...really! I might just take the nest out and try to replace it again. Sometimes that works and sometimes they get finicky and don't want to use it. We have black Cayuga ducks and they lay dark charcoal colored eggs. Really pretty looking. When I wash the eggs the charcoal color comes off a little and the eggs end up looking spotted. Kinda gross looking, but it isn't poop stuck on them. I like the way they look before the washing.
   Yesterday we also cleaned out the pig stalls in the big barn. They were only used for a few weeks around the time of the blizzard so they didn't have a lot packed down. I pitch forked the nasty stuff (not too smelly) into a wheel barrow and took it out to a pile. Then Marty used the loader tractor to take it to the bigger pile down by the woods that we will turn into compost. I know that all you women are wondering why he got the easy job...brains! Mine. Yep...the wheel barrow has power stearing (me) and the tractor doesn't. And, he still had to scoop it some into the tractor bucket. My brain tells me I actually got the easier job. Besides, it was great exercise and I feel pretty good today. It enabled me to work off my three donuts from the morning.
   Cleaning the barn is a sign of spring for us. Now I just have the sheep stall to finish. They have their "bedroom" in the barn and watched me from the comfort of it. They also asked why I was being "baaad" and not clean theirs too. Maybe today I'll get to some of it. They are in it longer than the pigs so it will be packed down more and harder work. Have to beef up for it.
   Will worked on spraying an organic booster stuff on the wheat and then worked on fixing the sprayer. Another sign of the season...fixing equipment. The sprayer pump broke, the mower had a flat tire, and the loader tractor has an arm on the digger that needs welded today. Our neighbor says..."if you have equipment, you have maintenance". So true. Will is our mechanic and does a good job at all of that type of stuff.
   While Will tilled the new areas in the north field, Marty and I got out the Allis G tractor and the little push seeder and planted. (Sorry I don't have a picture of this method of planting. But I can't take the picture while on the tractor.) Marty drives. I sit on the front of this tiny tractor and hold the seeder in place. YES...this is NOT a good example of farm safety. He isn't going fast and I'm pretty wedged on there. It is WAY faster than walking the seeder and trying to hit a straight line between tire tracks. We got radishes, turnips, beets, and onions planted. The onions we just walked along and dropped onion sets in the row then covered them later. So...the first crops are planted in the field! Yippee!


This is the Allis G tractor.
 I sit on that little triangle on the front.




And this is the seeder that I hold in place.
Tricky and takes talent!



Didn't Jack say something like..."I'm Baaack!"

   Okay...I'm not sure if Jack in the Shining said quite that, but here I am. It's been a while - eek! - okay a LONG while and we've been pretty darn busy. But, today is a nice slow (I'm lying) Sunday morn. I got up bright and shiny at 7am and mopped the upstairs after having swept it last night at 9pm. It is absolutely amazing how busy those bunnies are when I'm not using a room. I think I made one bunny for each room! We are trying to play catch up a little this week. That means catch up on cleaning too.
   I have to say THANK YOU to all of you who were waiting patiently for the updates and who read this mumbo jumbo. You are a terrific group of moral supporters! And, it isn't that I didn't write the blogs when we were in the syrup house, I just couldn't get the time to dump them on the internet. I know...no excuse. I've never been very good at journal writing either. But, here is the update...

   This is our chalkboard that we keep in the syrup house...say Hi to Donna's pigs (in the corner picture). What does all this blah blah mean? Weeellll....I'll try to decipher it for you. You'll see on the right side of the chart the number of trees tapped, when we tapped, when we collected sap first, how many total gallons of sap we boiled (2,255 is about two hundred more than last year), when we started boiling the sap, the number of loads of firewood (about one wagon full is a load, approx. one load used per day), how much sap it took before we could get our "base" and draw some syrup off for the first batch, and the supplies we used.

   Then the bottom blah blah is our little notes to ourselves about the boiling point of water. Did you know that the boiling point of water changes according to the weather every day? Yep. So, every day we boiled water in the house in the morning and sometimes at noon to check it. Some days it was 212 degrees, some days not. Then we thought we would experiment a little and record the temperature we finished the syrup at and the barometer reading. We use a hydrometer to check when the syrup is finished. That way if the boiling point has changed, the syrup should still be the right consistency. The hydrometer, a weight in the bottom of a glass tube that has a paper with numbers on it stuck in it, is put into the syrup which is in a long tube and it will float at a certain thickness of syrup. Scientific stuff. So, anyway...that is what that is about at the bottom. And...the flues in the back pan hold 4 gallons of sap. The whole evaporator (we think) holds about 15 when it is at the correct level.

   Onward...on the right...the days we finished syrup and how many gallons finished. Usually it is 40 gallons of sap per 1 gallon of syrup. That depends on a lot of other scientific factors tho. Our goal was to get 3 gallons per day and over 50 gallons for the season. Darren Ropp's Prairie Central high school agriculture classes came out a few times to help (that is the number of kids that came out total) and there is a tiny HS next to the days they came. The number of visitors is recorded and a "V" next to the days we had visitors.

   We are truly sorry that we couldn't do a public program or programs for other groups this year. It was just too much with our already long and tiring days. We are really glad that all the visitors that came out helped collect sap and firewood some and were part of learning the process. It made for a nice exchange, giving us a little break from the work while they got to learn what was going on. Thanks a ton to all of you! We hope you enjoyed the time in the syrup house.

   At the very bottom is the nature report: Redwing blackbirds arrived on 2/19, killdeer arrived on 2/27. Not reported were the peeper (little frogs that make a peeping noise) that started the day we began to clean up on the 16th. It was a nice farewell to the season...their send off. Or...maybe they were chearing that we weren't tromping around their woods, who knows.

   So...the total (not on the chart when I took the picture cuz we were trying to sqeeze out another 1/4 gallon) was 53 gallons. More than last year (50), but not as much as we wanted (100). We learned this year that our evaporator just can't do more than we are doing. It is the size of it. We run it super high boiling all the time for about 12 hours a day. It just can't go faster. Another scientific thingy...the rate of evaporation only occurs at a certain rate due to the surface area and such. So, we determined that we need to come up with about $4,000, sell our evaporator for $3,000 and get a larger one (2'x8' is the dream size costing about $7,000). Then we could produce more than twice as much, possibly even four times as much. That would be WONDERFUL!! And, wonderful for all of you who aren't getting this delicious stuff.

   All of the syrup was delivered on Friday. I made cool new labels that read "Uncle Willard's Sticky Yum-Yum" and have a picture of Will's great-great-grandfather, WD, and his buddies next to the old syrup house. (Thanks to Riley for the great idea!) Marty and I trekked to the jungle of Chicago to deliver gallons to the chefs and Will went around home and to Champaign to deliver. We have a few jars to send out to people on Monday. But, the season is done...sorry we didn't have enough for all of you...maybe next year.

   I know this is very lengthy but the rest of the update is this: no Spunky return (I really miss her), no more crazy stupid people driving through our yard, no piglet babies YET (hopefully soon), lots of little "frankenstein" greens (as Scot would say) in the basement coming up nicely and being watered and tended daily (throughout the syrup season also), and lots of clean up to do.

   The syrup clean up takes a while. Marty got all the 300+ buckets cleaned (and lids and taps) with help from mom (thanks mom!). Will sprayed the floor and walls, cleaned out the big tank, and has done lots of other clean up. He also started work on the new lean-to on the syrup house and exploded the wood shed. I say exploded for a good reason...but that might be another story.

   And me...I just sit and supervise...NOT!! It looks like that in the pictures cuz I take the pictures. But my job this season is cleaning the evaporator. Call me the Fool for volunteering to do that! I did the buckets last year and that was back breaking. The evaporator tho is another whole back breaker. It is a huge job of scrubbing for hours and hours and hours.

   Try this...turn on your oven to 200 degrees or so, then constantly dribble watery syrup on the bottom, letting it evaporate and harden. Do this for 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, for 4 weeks. Hm. You will begin to notice after the first few hours and couple of days, a very hard mineral deposit building up. It got about 1/16 thick this year in spots. That is the easy part to get off, just soak some vinegar on it and it chips off. The HARD part is the little thin residue of minerals around the edges...AUGH! Jack from the Shining looks sane compared to me when I'm scrubbing!

   I have worked on it about 7 or more hours so far and got one bottom (there are three) and four sides (there are twelve cuz of the dividers) in the front pan. That's just the Front Pan. The back pan I started on and Will has been kind enough to help some. It comes off a little easier as it boils thinner sap. Thanks to mom Willa for the Shaklee scrub stuff that smells like raspberries and works like Comet but is all natural. It is helping a TON. I figure now it will take two weeks to finish instead of two months. Well, we'll see. 

   We hope to get the syrup house lean-to and wood shed done before moving on to the next big projects of field work. And, that is as soon as it dries enough to get the tractor in the field. Hoophouses are weedy as it was too wet to get in there and walk around. The water had run under the sides from all the snow melt. They are drying out and, of course, it is to thunderstorm today and tomorrow. We'll try to get them weeded soon. Stuff is growing super slow so far, green garlic is being slow and that is the next large crop we will harvest. Animal pens and houses get cleaned out this week (peee-yeww!). They will be very happy about that. And I'm on a cleaning rampage, getting the house done and starting on the buildings one by one. We've been so busy the last five years with all the extra-curricular projects that we just piled stuff and now it is piled to the ceilings. I'm cleaning out so check back for the latest goodies on sale soon!   

   Oh yeah...Our Allis Chalmers 1944 "C" tractor, with side arm mower is FOR SALE for $3,000 (see picture on home page "cool equipment"). Email us thru our website if you are interested.

   And, Will's diesel truck (has used bio-diesel) is FOR SALE. Contact him thru the email on our website if you are interested. Here's a pic...

Ranting about Country Respect

   Okay...time for a good rant!
   If you've been following this blog, you might remember me writing about people going off the road by our house. This morning was another one of those days. A friend and neighbor of ours went off the road and flipped her car. And the most unfortunate thing is that she was hurt. She was able to call for help on her phone and Marty was still doing chores so was able to be right there also. The sherriff deputy showed up. Then two fire trucks, two ambulances, about six EMT's, and about a dozen firefighters came. They were able to get her out okay. (You guys are AWSOME!)
   But, here's my rant. Who was that idiot that was coming from the south (you know who you are babe!), that couldn't wait for the emergency vehicles to get our neighbor out of her car and to the hospital, and decided to drive thru...yes, through...our yard to get around them.
   Then she got her car stuck in our yard while doing so.
   Now...the deputy, bless his heart told her to stay put and Marty also asked her what she was thinking. Her response was...get this!..."this is how we do it in the country". SAAYY WHAAAT?! Oh yeah, if I'm stalled behind a life threatening emergency I tend to drive thru someone's yard to get around also. Would she do this in town? Is my yard less valuable than someone in town? What "country" is she from anyway? Are the firefighters and EMT's not having to worry as much about our neighbor's life and go push this lady's car out because we are in the country? Is she some kind of friggin idiot?
   Well. All I have to say is that it is a very good thing - no a GREAT thing - that I wasn't there. I tend to have a temper with stupidity, not to mention disrespect for personal property, not to mention disprespect for another's life. I think I could've come up with a handful of charges such as 'willful distruction of property' and 'impeding emergency personnel', just to name two. I think the cop let her off pretty easy.
   I also think I would've let her sit and think about those charges while she waited for the tow truck to come pull her out and she could pay for that as well as the property damages.
   If she was truly from "the country", she would've known she could turn around, go less than a mile south, east a mile, then back north and into town, taking probably less time than it took for her to sit there in our yard. Idiot.

   Now...with all that said, PLEASE pray for our neighbor's quick recovery from her injuries. We are really really hoping and praying that she is okay and can go home from the hospital soon.
   And, if you are the lady that drove thru our yard, you might want to thank the powers that be that I wasn't the cop there at the time. Or that I wasn't there at all. And, also that you weren't the one in the car that flipped over and are being sent to the hospital. And, you should thank those firefighters for pushing your car out of the yard and taking time away from them doing their jobs!
   It's all about respect people. RESPECT for others, "country" or not.

Cat Tracks

   Cat tracks this morning in the snow. I follow them to the basement door, to the bushes where the birds are flitting, to the shed, the chicken house and around the side. Then they lead me to the small barn door, under the hog hut, to the old hog shed. I lose them there.
   On the way to the big barn I pick them up again, stopping at each of the three doors. Then they lead towards the woods, along the prairie path and turn in towards the syrup house. A little jaunt around the syrup tank to the syrup house door and then turn and peek into the shed, then back to the prairie trail.
   Off and on the trail, thru the woods on a deer path, up a branch and down the other side. On and on I go - hope in my heart, trying not to cry. At the gate to the road I stop as they get lost on the road. I peer across at the neighbor's house, call a couple of times, then give up.
   Was she looking for me? Was it her? Or was it just the other farm's midnight watch cat doing its rounds. Disappointed I go back to the syrup house to start the day. Spunky...where are you? Are you okay? Will you be able to come home?
   I miss my cat.



Spunky Brewster...missing Thursday, Feb. 23rd, 2011.
Farm cat extraordinaire. Very much missed.



The Exciting Days of Syruping

   It feels like weeks since I last wrote. We are really going at it now, twelve to fourteen hours a day of syrup making. It is long days but well worth it!
Here's a typical day for us right now...
   I get up at 6:30 and get my breakfast put together, load up with stuff, and head for the woods. When I get to the syrup house I work on opening the roof vents, clean the evaporator flues and take out some of the ashes, and get a fire started. Then I start up the little generator borrowed from our friend John Carroll (thanks a ton, John!) and fill the blue barrel full of sap, sucking it out of the large steel tank that sits outside the syrup house. While that fills and the fire gets started, I quick wolf down my waffles (with syrup of course).
   When the guys get the chores done, emails answered, and heat the houses, etc., they come down to help out. We all take turns watching the evaporator as the sap boils so it doesn't boil over. We also take turns with putting wood in and cutting more wood, an ongoing task. And, yes ladies...I run the chainsaw also! (A regular old Rosie with the muscles here!)
   The idea is to keep the sap boiling as hard as possible without boiling it over and out of the pans. When the sap in the front pan is thick enough, we all work together to draw it off into a bucket and filter it twice into the finisher. Everything works a lot easier with the three of us working together. While Marty continues to watch the sap boil and control that part, which he is very good at, Will and I work on the bottling part of the operation.
   Will is really good at testing the syrup to make sure it is done. We do this with a hydrometer that tells us just the right amount of water (or not) to have in the syrup. Too much and the syrup spoils, too little and the syrup crystalizes. It is a very exacting science, and also dependant on the weather. After Will gets the syrup at the right consistency, we work together on the bottling. I fill the bottles and then later clean them off and label them at the house.
   At lunch time Marty fixes something spectacular and we all eat together picnic style in the woods. In order to not have the sap boil over, we crank it down...that means we cool it off by either adding more sap or closing the front damper. It really takes a lot of keeping an eye on things. And, even tho it might seem that watching sap boil would be boring, we are going on our feet almost all day.
   We keep track throughout the day of the sap boiled, the wood used, and the gallons of syrup made. We also write down the weather conditions and little things like when the first redwing blackbirds start singing. That all helps us the next year to do a better job with the syrup and to make sure we pay attention to spring coming.
   At 5:00 we start to shut down, not adding any more wood to the fire. The guys go up to the farm to do chores. I sweep, close the vents, wait for the fire to go down, clean the counters and equipment, make sure chairs are hung on the walls and trash taken up to the house. We keep everything as clean as we can. That is what I'm good at. Then I pack up my stuff and track up to the house to help wash filters and equipment, to have dinner, and to collapse.
   Up again the next day for the same. But, the syrup is heavenly tasting! Buttery and rich. No sugars and additives, just pure maple syrup. It is well worth it...did I already say that? Well, it is!

Marty and Will watching the pans.

Buttery tasting beautiful brown sap...almost syrup!

Lunch time in our office in the woods.

One day worth of firewood...maybe.

   The best days for boiling are days like today. A little sun, cold and in the upper 30's and with dry dry wood. Wet wood makes the process a real chore. Today is ideal. So...back to work!