Its Maple Syrup time....

DH got a few of the taps in before dark and the sap was flowing. I don't know how this year is going to go with the weather the way it's been so far. The rest of this week looks pretty good and hopefully tomorrow we will be cooking down the sap and bottling some syrup. He wants to add more taps tomorrow if the sap is flowing well on the ones he did today.
This is only our second year making maple syrup, but it was enough to get the bug. The whole summer DH has been super protective of the few jars of syrup we made last year. I could see him do the math on how much was left every time I offered a jar to someone or opened one to bake with. This year I hope to get enough made to sell at the farmers markets and to bake with with out giving DH a heart attack. I know some people tapped early and some, like us, are just starting. The weather has been all over the place this winter and more then a few times we wondered if we should start the season early. There is an old saying that you shouldn't tap until after March 1st, so we decided to go with that and we will see very soon if it will pay off. Wish us luck. I will post a few how-to photos with in the next day or two, so check back for those. Meanwhile my friend has e-mailed me a post to add to the blog about why she wanted to be a farmer. Enjoy!

I blame it all on Carla Emery, and the Encyclopedia of Country Living. 

To say that I was fascinated would be an understatement.  I would spend hours reading those green pages, thoroughly engrossed with each and every word and her unique writing style.  She opened a window into my life, a country girl growing up surrounded by women trying to do the exact things Carla was writing about. 

To me a “MOM” grew the food, preserved it, and turned it into a wonderful healthy meal for her family.  She turned yarn into warm blankets, cozy sweaters, and winter proof hats and mittens.  If she was lucky she even had a spinning wheel allowing her to take the fiber from the sheep, goats, or rabbits she raised and spin it into warm yarn to envelop her family.  “MOM” could milk the goats in the morning, and could present soap, lotion, or cheese to her family that evening. Okay, so maybe it does not always happen that quickly…… but you get my point.  She was a superwoman, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up.

Well here I am thirty years later; a wife, mother, and farmer.  I am still just as obsessed with the lessons I read about in my childhood.  I am striving to be that Proverb 31 woman, by providing a healthy lifestyle for my family.  We raise or purchase most of our food locally.  We recycle and reuse instead of waste.  We are stewards of our land.  There is a ton of room for improvement and expansion, but we are going forward one step at a time. 

Please join us in our adventure, and learn from both our mistakes and successes.  And if you are lucky enough to find a copy of The Encyclopedia of Country Living, consider yourself warned.  It really could change your life.