Sugaring

I love sugaring season! Slogging through snow, up to your arm pits at times, lugging all the stuff you need with you & getting tapped out. Then there's tripping in the wicked slippery, slushy snow with a full pail of sap & getting soaked while trying to gather buckets. Let's not forget being wet & tired at the end of the day & having to get chores done now that the sun is going down & you are cold. I'm not sure WHY I love sugaring, but I do! I think it is because you can finally get out & enjoy the 1st few rays of spring sunshine. The snow is finally shrinking down & you know that winter is, for the most part anyway, behind you & spring flowers are in the not too distant future. My dog Jack loves sugaring too. He puts in a lot of miles getting caught up on all the smells in the woods & along the meadows while we're gathering & then stretches out & snoozes along side the evaporator in the sugarhouse when we're done. It doesn't get any better than being able to take in the sweet, maple smell in the air when the evaporator is just a crankin' & the sugarhouse is so steamy you can't see 3 feet ahead of you. We've gathered 3 times so far this year & I'm still lovin' it. I'll let you know in a few weeks if I still feel that way after hundreds of 5 gallon gathering pails have been lugged!