“It’s a very sweet day here at Essex Farm. First, the literal. Chad, Kim, Sabrina, and a small pack of helpers got well over 300 sugar maples tapped this week. We’ve had decent runs for the last 48 hours, and Chad and our neighbor Ron Jackson have been firing the evaporator since dawn yesterday. Ron thinks we might get a run today from our small trees, but not the big ones, because last night’s temperature didn’t drop low enough for long enough to reset them, despite this morning’s chill and dusting of snow. But then, says Chad, we have got a lot of little trees tapped. I’m watching out the window now, hoping to catch a glimpse of Fern and Arch hitched to the sap wagon, which would mean there is enough in the buckets to justify collecting. Seems like everybody with an opinion on maple trees predicts that this will not be a good syrup year, because the weather has been so screwy, and there isn’t any snow cover. Maybe so, but for now, we can just enjoy the sweet steam rolling out of the pavilion, and the first good taste of spring.

The figurative sweetness comes from new twin ram lambs this morning. What a pleasure to go outside and find them just born, already up and nursing their mama. Happy births are an event that will never get old…” [Continue reading.]

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