I’m home. It’s 5:45 pm Sunday, April 2, 2017. NH Maple month is officially over. And as I look back I see that I visited my first Maple Farm 8 years ago today. There’s still plenty of maple activity to go this year – at least to the north. Some to the south are finished and it won’t take too many days like today for the buds to come out. Sugar Maples usually last a little longer than Reds but if you are on tubing you may not have the option to choose your trees. There’s also things like the Vermont Maple Festival at the end of the month. I have a commitment for Saturday but might see what I can do on Sunday…then again, it looks like all the Sugarhouse tours are Saturday. Maybe I should just aim now for Vermont Maplerama in August.
This year has been a strange year all around. The weather has been up and down, particularly crazy on weekends which is the time I have to go Sweet Peeping, that is, hunting open Sugar Shacks. But I’ve had many good discussions with Sugarmakers of all skill levels and passed out many cards. I’ve realized how hard these people work and thought about how maybe I can share information between them in ways no one else can. In light of that, I’ve chosen to open my Facebook Maple Albums to public viewing. I’d love to share the information that I’ve found with the farmers who might learn something.
I also invite critique, criticism and corrections. If I have something wrong, whether it be technique or history, please drop me a note so I can correct it ASAP. That being said, here are the links to my albums. Warning: they are large.
And I hope to transcribe some of my notes about the farms I have visited this year and get some blog posts written soon. 2017 brought less quantity but greater quality visits.
Enjoy! May you have a sweet season.
HodgePodge Maple 