let the running begin...

...the maple syrup that is! You didn't think I was taking up running did you? Actually I feel like a short distance sprinter when sap season comes around with all the collecting that we do everyday! We drive to the trees and let the fun begin! The kiddos are big helpers too, they can empty buckets and hang them back up, provided the buckets aren't overflowing, or "ovy flowed" as one calls it, still! They can even help drill the holes in the trees. The older two have come so far over the years that we have done this, the younger two are getting there! At least they are not in the car screaming anymore! Oh the screaming baby in the car! Had our fair share of that as they kept coming, seeing how I was either huge pregnant or they were just too little to help during sap season! I had spring babies, three of them, and a fall baby. We don't have the tubing,  we use the old fashioned buckets and spiles at this time. The trees are not on a hill, but we have found a huge bunch that has potential for the tubing...!

How cool is that picture?!!! I had to take a few to catch those drips too! I can hardly wait to drizzle that sweet maple syrup on my pancakes, or french toast! My own maple syrup that is, not someone else. I have a huge since of satisfaction making maple syrup.We are excited to get the new saperator going! We are praying that it's a better year for it at well, and the way the sap has been running, it seems as though it is! We've had people asking us if we have any for sale yet, and I've told them we're working on it! Weather permitting!

You'll have to please forgive me for the dogs barking in the back ground. We were down the road and the dogs were going crazy at the house we were tapping trees at (the dogs are not ours). The sap was flowing real well yesterday and I wanted to listen to it drip, drip into the bucket! I took the video with the intent to put it on my blog and share with you! Hope it works!

My baby. She is such a Mommy's girl. Follows me around everywhere! Those cheeks! Just wanna kiss 'em!  The snow is almost gone too! Bare ground in some places, other places you sink to your knee as you get to the tree on the road side!

The Man drilling a hole and the girls are eagerly waiting to put the spile in and hang the bucket! See the road? It's nice to be close to the road and not have to go deep into the woods. We are praying we are blessed with land that has a sugar bush on it! That would be sweet! We did not tap some of the trees we tapped last year because they were old and just didn't give much last year. But we found some new younger trees to tap, so we didn't loose any taps. We may be expanding the number this year.

My boy! He got that leather bag, that he and his Daddy sewed together, moccasins, that we didn't let him wear because his feet would get wet for Christmas, and my Mom made that leather shirt he has on, it's got fringe on the front. He was Daniel Boone yesterday, and Davy Crockett the day before! He didn't wear his coon skin hat for some reason. That is a new tree that he picked out and tapped all by himself. The Man has been teaching him all about trees and wood stuff when they go hunting, fishing, or to the mill to work. He can now tell me about trees and trails in the woods. I'd get lost! A few tips from Daddy about the tree he wanted to tap, and he was good to go!
Sometimes we use the old fashioned drill, but after a while we use the electric one. Makes the holes get done faster!