A Visit to a Maple syrup farm

It was another chilly day today, but at the least the snow showers had stopped. We took occasion to take the kids to a nearby maple syrup farm so that they could see how pure maple syrup is made. I took this picture there as they stood next to this old McCormick bulldozer.

The farm is situated on 20 acres and they make their living selling their maple syrup products (syrup, candy, creams, sugar etc) as well as cutting and drying wood. My eyes lit up as we drove in when I saw logs, sawdust, and drying kilns! The kids stood around and waited while I toured the woodshop where molding, flooring, and paneling are made.


They receive up to 700 gallons of sap each day and they boil it in this wood fired stove here. They can boil of about 40 gallons every hour. It is a family ran business and the kids all play their part in doing their various chores.

One of the youngsters whose job is to stoke the stove and siphon on the syrup at the appropriate times managed to memorize both of Paul's epistles to Corinthians!

We came home with a gallon of syrup and a tub of maple cream (this stuff is to die for!) I came home with a price list for various lumber, moldings, and cutting/drying rates! I admire those who are able to put forth some ingenuity and a lot of hard work and make a living by working on the family farm.

As far as our "farm" goes, I have been pretty busy working on various cabinet jobs. I did go out in the snowflakes the other day and pruned the fruit trees and the raspberry plants. I eyed the gardens, which could have been tilled, but I passed for a warmer day. I also eyed a lot of other spring projects and wondered when I would get a chance to get at them. The boys got one of the wagon loads of wood unloaded and got started on the other one today. They complained that it was a bit too cold, but at 40 degrees, I decided not to be merciful! Get to work!