Photos From The 2011 Maple Season
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Snow...And More Snow
Winter is the time for us to work in the maple woods, getting everything ready before the season starts in late February. Each year we add or repair several thousand feet of new sap lines. Winter is the best time for this job. 
There are no flies or mosquitos and the leaves have fallen from the trees so the woods are easier to both see through and walk through. Snow on the ground sometimes makes the work easier, allowing equipment and supplies to be dragged. Unfortunately, this year there was too much snow and the woods were almost impassable at times.
This year we received 128 inches of snow, well beyond the season average of 83 inches (Burlington, VT). One March blizzard alone dumped about 26 inches of snow. We spent countless hours digging out sap lines, only to have another storm bury them again. Even in good weather, climbing up and down the steep terrain to follow thousands of feet of line, can be very hard work. Add 3-4 feet of snow to the mix, and strap on clumsy snowshoes 3 times the size of your feet, and you have yourself one difficult job!
Maple Production Update For 2011
Despite the record snowfalls this year, spring did arrive along with a great production season. For the first time the farm hit the benchmark of producing a half gallon of maple syrup per tap. Many days during the season we gathered over 2900 gallons of sap and produced about 60 gallons of maple syrup. There were many long days (usually 16 hour work days) and nights, but by the end of the season on April 11th we had produced 1080 gallons of maple syrup.