More Syrup Is A Good Thing

It has been an incredible year of sap. So much so that we recruited the help of these two young strong men, Jonathan and Christopher.










Of course, it was a beautiful warm sunny day. They would have preferred to have a snowball fight. In fact they were teaming up against their cousin Noah.

Meanwhile back inside the Schoeck Sugar Shack (AKA Cristina's Garden Shed) Steven was instructing them on the art and science of sugaring.

 The newcomers were very interested.

Supervising.

Once the majority of the water has boiled off we move the operation indoors where we keep a very close eye on the process. This is where it can get tricky.









As the water content decreases and the sugar content increases the rate of boiling off the water goes faster. We have to test it often with the hydrometer to check for the right consistency. 

 And in the end we have MORE maple syrup. And more maple syrup is always a good thing.

Music to My Ears...Kind of

Somewhere between school, scouts, sports, band, jazz band and hang out with friends Noah has decided to learn to play the Ukulele. There is a Ukulele Club at school.

Tap Tap Tap

It's that time of year again. Cold nights below freezing and warm days. The sap is starting to flow and we are ready too.












So we invited a few friends to help us tap the trees. Of course our experienced tapper Kevin was back this year.


















New to our team this year is James.














Sugaring is often more about the fun with friends than just the end product. Everything is better when shared with friends.