Wes, Wayne, and Cole have tapped the maple trees
The sap runs if it gets cold in the night, preferrably down into the 20s, and then it has to be warm during the day, hopefully into the 40s. The first night after they tapped the trees, Wayne and Cole would keep checking the digital indoor/outdoor thermometer to see if it was getting cold enough. Wayne would announce excitedly, "DOWN TO 31.3!" Then five minutes later Cole would shout, "31.2 DEGREES!" It did get cold that first night, but the next day it never got very warm. In fact it hasn't been very warm at all since then, so not much sap to boil at this point.That doesn't matter. We have to check the buckets everyday anyway. Everyday after school that's the first thing Wayne wants to do when he gets home. Even if there's only about a half gallon of sap, he'll pester Wes, "Can we boil tonight?" 
Wayne's friend Ben came over last weekend when it was pretty warm and they played in the muddy driveway, while waiting for Wes to give them a ride on the trackster out to the sap buckets.
Heather tries to get a good look at the "maypo sewup."
Wayne's friend Ben came over last weekend when it was pretty warm and they played in the muddy driveway, while waiting for Wes to give them a ride on the trackster out to the sap buckets.
There they go.
Sap bucket waiting for a cold night partnered with a warm day to fill it with sap.
And in other news, I have to say how nice it is around here when no one is throwing up. Tuesday evening and into the night Heather was very sick. I had to change her bedding and pajamas 4 times between 8:00 and 10:00. She finally stopped throwing up at around 12:30. The next morning, Cole came down from bed and said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts a little." I'm sure you can guess the rest. It was a long day. Luckily, everyone slept through last night without incident, and everyone has been okay today. I'm hoping Wayne escapes it.
Sap bucket waiting for a cold night partnered with a warm day to fill it with sap.
And in other news, I have to say how nice it is around here when no one is throwing up. Tuesday evening and into the night Heather was very sick. I had to change her bedding and pajamas 4 times between 8:00 and 10:00. She finally stopped throwing up at around 12:30. The next morning, Cole came down from bed and said, "Mommy, my tummy hurts a little." I'm sure you can guess the rest. It was a long day. Luckily, everyone slept through last night without incident, and everyone has been okay today. I'm hoping Wayne escapes it.
Oh, it was all so lovely and charming until I got to the throw-up part! ha ha
ReplyDeleteGod almightly, 3 kids throwing up at the same time - now wouldn't that be a nightmare!
I can see that Cole and Heather are becoming as interested in maple syrup season
ReplyDeleteas Wayne and Dad are! A lot of work! We tapped some trees years ago on
Twin Maples Farm in Montville where we lived as children. Our farm was so named for two huge maple trees behind our
house. Of course I also remember our swing hanging from one of the branches.
Maine fears a poor Maple season this year due to weather....some areas north of us had large branch and tree loss
due severe ice storms. But some folks seem to think it'll still do well in the less damaged areas,
I'll say "Good Night, Everyone!" Thanks for another tale of Life At the Alexander"s"I'm sure you know how much we
enjoy these special moments.
Love , Mom and Dad...Grampa and Gramma
Beautiful photos....you even captured the sap coming out! I am so glad everyone is feeling better!!!
ReplyDeleteSAM
Wow, I'll bet you're glad to get through THAT sickness. At least it sounds short-lived. Have you, Wayne and Wes all managed to stay healthy? I love your pictures, you have such a great talent for really capturing the moment, Darlene. The first picture belongs on the cover of "Vermont Life" magazine.
ReplyDelete