Making Pure Maple Syrup

 

What on earth is that?

Pure maple syrup, that's what!

Our son's farm in Salisbury, PA is in the heart of maple syrup country. 

We are surrounded by farms who tap the trees with blue lines that run from tree to tree, but so far, Kevin and Katie are still doing it the old-fashioned way with sap buckets. This is just a couple of the many trees he tapped.

The first week of March, Kevin was collecting the sap from the buckets every day and then pouring them into a large pan over a fire. 

Then we fed the fire every few minutes to keep the syrup boiling. 

It's a looonnnng process!

The boiling syrup creates a constant steam. Country roads are dotted with sugar camps, and the rising smoke from the fire and steam from the syrup are dead giveaways to their locations.

You have to keep a constant eye on how much sap is in the pan. It will burn easily if it gets too low. But it can be difficult to see the sap through the steam! 

Momentarily, the air will shift, and you can once again see it boiling underneath the steam. 

The sap starts out looking like water, but by the time it's close to finished, it takes on the beautiful amber hues we know as syrup, and the sweet smell fills the air.

After several days of collecting sap from the trees and boiling it down, they ended up with 7 gallons of pure maple syrup for their own use. They aren't selling it commercially at this point. That would involve big (expensive!) changes to their operation. For now, they just enjoy making it the same way generations of folks did before them. 

And now, pass the pancakes! 

Sled Riding Fun

It was too cold (BRRR!!!) to go sled riding for a couple days after the snow, but yesterday the sun came out, the winds died down, and we hit the hill!  

The hill is in the hayfield on our son's farm. 

Note for the future...mow the hillside again in late fall, so we don't have to sled ride over tall weeds full of seeds! 

But we won't let the weeds stop us! 

Watch out Pappy! They are gaining on you!

After countless trips sliding down, and climbing back up, we were coated in snow.

And we didn't care at all!

It was such a fun afternoon.

Last winter, we only had 2 of the long sleds. We also had some of the round ones, but we all prefer the long ones. We went shopping for more of the long ones, but everyone was sold out. We did have one hardware store tell us they had more ordered, so we told them to call us when they came in. Days went by with no call, so George called them. The order was delayed. He called every few days to see if they had received them yet - he really wanted those sleds! 

Finally, they came, and wouldn't you know it, we didn't get any more snow. So, we put them in a corner and patiently waited. And while we aren't always excited to see snow come because of the problems it causes on the roads, and the limitations it puts on outside projects, we are always happy to get the sleds out.

Here's to a fun winter sliding down the hayfield! 

December Snows

We had a couple inches of snow over the last few days. Just enough to cover the ground and make it pretty. We took a walk in our son's woods with a weed eater, a chainsaw, a pair of long handled pruners, and a pitchfork. The walk was to get some fresh air and exercise after being cooped up in the house for several days. The tools were to do a little brush cutting to clear a path to some firewood.

The wind was really starting to crank up on the hills, but down in the woods it wasn't bad at all. Though this fern looked like it was feeling the cold.

I was cutting some brush under a hawthorn tree, and when I looked up, I saw this bird nest tucked into the branches. 

I had to stop and take a photo of one of my favorite spots in their woods. 

Another storm blew in later in the day, and when we woke up this morning, we had another 6 or so inches. Very fluffy. And very cold! It was beautiful, but I didn't take very many pictures when we went out to shovel out the sidewalks and plow the driveway. I couldn't take photos with my thick gloves on, and I found out very quickly it was too painful to take them off with a wind chill of 10 below 0. 

But I did pull them off long enough to take a quick snap of this table on our deck. 

Isn't that cool? Love how the snow fell through the holes in the tabletop. 

I stood in the warmth of the dining room to take this one. The pine bush outside is weighted down by the snow, and I like how it looks behind one of the snowmen ornaments I painted several years ago. It would have been nicer if there wasn't a screen in the window, but I still like the effect. 

 

It's supposed to warm up later in the week, so all this snow may turn to mud in a few days. With any luck, we will get a chance to do a little sled riding before it melts. Too, too cold today, but maybe tomorrow! 

Learning on the Job Digging Dahlias and Gladiolus

The warm days of autumn have faded into the chilly days of early winter, and I've been busy helping Kevin and Katie wrap up the growing season. My flower growing knowledge is rather limited, but bless their hearts, they agreed to let me help out, and I'm really enjoying it. And I'm learning a lot! 

Annie has taken it up herself to keep an eye on me as I work. 
Not a bad idea, someone needs to make sure I do it right. 

A couple weeks ago, I volunteered to dig the dahlias. These were from their specialty patch at their house that Katie uses in the flower arrangements she sells in season. At first, I dug them and laid them in the grass nearby. But it was a windy day, and I was having trouble keeping their nametags in place. 

So, I abandoned that idea, and as I dug them, I just carried them 2 at a time to the greenhouse to dry for a couple days. Let's just say that helped get my steps in. Ha. 

A couple days later, George helped me dig the dahlias from the U-Pick patch, which was less stressful, since those ones weren't tagged, meaning I didn't have to worry about making sure I didn't lose said tags. After they dried a bit, Kevin got them all tucked into barrels with a blanket of peat moss to keep them cozy for their long winters nap in their basement. 

Today, it was the gladiolus' turn. Because of the wet spring, they got planted late and then bloomed beautifully as long as they could. Kevin and Katie decided to leave the glads in the ground for a while despite frosty nights, so the glads could go through their winding down process. But with the possibility of snow next week, it was time to get them out of the ground. 

This was my first time digging glads, and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could just pull them out of the ground by hand, using a garden fork occasionally if one broke off from the stem. I filled 2 crates by myself, then George helped me fill 2 more. The kids helped with the last 2, and let me tell you, they had the pulling process down! I was the stem cutter, and I could barely keep up with them. 

Hopefully the fact that the glads had some frosty nights won't be an issue. Last year, Kevin accidentally skipped a row when he dug them up, and that row made a surprise appearance in the summer, with no damage. 

Now the glads are taking their turn in the greenhouse to dry before they too get put to bed for the winter. 

 

Trying our Hands at Drying Flowers

Just a few weeks ago, the U-Pick Patch at our son's farm was in full glory. Howard Family Farms in Salisbury, PA was the place to go to pick and arrange your own bouquet. 

Unfortunately, the end of the season comes when Jack Frost makes his annual debut.

The night before the predicted frost, George & I cut a row of flowers Katie wanted to dry from the U-Pick Patch, while Kevin did the same in their private patch at their house. 

It was getting close to dark, and we were hustling. And to be completely honest, we really didn't know what we were doing. But we managed to completely fill the truck bed with just one row of flowers.

The next day, George & I tied them together into bundles, while the kids & Kevin hung them to dry. Once again, we really didn't know what we were doing, but we gave it the ole college try. We were almost done when Katie got home from work, and told Kevin that technically, we were supposed to strip the leaves. Oops! But she was fine with how we did it, (or maybe she is just a good actor?) Hopefully the drying leaves won't be too much of an issue. 

Ah, well, this may be a live and learn situation. Isn't that most of life? 

They sure look pretty hanging there! Katie has plans for them. It will be interesting to see what all she comes up with! 

 

Scarecrows for the Wild Apple Festival

We had a lot of fun making scarecrows for the Wild Apple Festival which our son and daughter-in-law hold on their farm.

Wait a minute, those 2 on the ends aren't scarecrows!

We scattered our new creations around the field.

This guy is next to an old grain cleaner in the U-Pick Flower Patch.

This one is a short guy, with a short window and a short corn shock. 

Perfect size for little ones to pose with. 

If you look closely, you can see an arch with small pumpkins growing on it. The plan was for the vines to completely cover the arch, but a too wet Spring followed by a too dry Summer took its toll. The flowers in the background did great though! 

This one is at the top of the lane, helping to announce the two-weekend festival. 

And this guy was our biggest challenge. We named him Johnny Lee, because he is wearing grandson John's pants, and neighbor Lee's hat. But technically, he could be called Pappy Johnny Lee, because he is also wearing Pappy's shirt. 

He was the hardest to make, and the hardest to stage. We knew we wanted him to look like he was plowing. It took a little doing, and a few stakes, but it worked!

He is part of the Scavenger Hunt in the apple orchard. There is a list of 15 items to find in the orchard. Some natural, some added. Anyone who finds at least 12 of the items is entered to win a gift basket of Howard Family Farms products. 

And how do you get to the orchard? On a hayride! There are goats to admire, and pigs to feed. There are kid's games to play. Flowers to pick. A trailer load of home-grown pumpkins to choose from. 

This is the second year for the festival, and it's really taking off. 

Lots of people were there having fun this morning.... until the rain moved in this afternoon. Sigh. 

But tomorrow is another (supposed to be sunny!) day. 

Easter Blessings

I do believe Spring is finally here to stay! 

Our favorite little guy is excited to be outside again.

He loves to "Hap."

You know...... Help. Said in a sweet little 2 year old voice.

He thought he was pretty big stuff calling in the cows.

And gettting the flower gardens ready.

I tried giving him a child sized hoe.

No dice.

He wants to use what we use.

"Tool." he says. Our big ones, not his little ones.

I've had a very productive Easter weekend. The flower beds are now mostly clean, and I've been helping George get poles set for a new barn we are building. We had great weather for most of it, though Easter Sunday did end with storms. 

We heard a great sermon at church, then had lunch with friends. An Easter buffet, chock full of delicious food. Our friends said they were going to go home and take a nap.

What did George and I do? We went home and chased cows. 

Three of the new calves decided the grass was greener on the other side of the fence while we were gone. We pulled onto our lane, and saw them, happily grazing in the hayfield.

Fortunately, it wasn't too much trouble getting them back where they belonged.

It's become a joke around here. When our son and daughter-in-law are away, one or another of the livestock will get out. Happens every time. 

Life on the farm.

Country Life and Shop Life Collide, with an E-I-E-I-E

With a shop name of Country Lane, it's only fitting to carry farm decor, don't you think?

So, we do. 

After all, farms and country lanes go together. 

For us, farming is who we are, in large part thanks to our son who started a farm on our property.

Then he married a farm girl.

And they are now raising a little boy who is a farmer thru & thru.

One of his first words was tractor.

He loves the maaas. 

And any piece of equipment.

Note he is wearing muck boots.

He prefers those (and cowboy boots) over sneakers.

He even discovered where old farm equipment goes to die. 

He didn't care, it was just his size.

He loves to sing Old MacDonalds farm.

E-I-E-I-E.

He never sings E-I-E-I-O, it's always E-I-E-I-E.

Love that little farmer boy! 

Even when he's in the shop with Mimi, he is still surrounded by farm animals.

With a moo moo here....

And a baa baa there....

With a cluck cluck here.....

And a quack quack there..... 

And everywhere an oink oink!

Back on the farm, I'm not sure what he was so awe struck by. Maybe a bird.

With a tweet tweet here, and a tweet tweet there.......