In theory, today is the first open house. In practice, the maple season hasn’t begun. Mother Nature is on her own schedule, and this year the snow and cold has put off the start of the season. As I write this morning, Joe is down at the sugar house getting everything ready for when the sap does begin to move. Looking at the forecast, mid-week may be the start of the season. The temperature has to be above freezing during the day.
To get ready, Joe and Jon have been spending lots of time on snowshoes, shoveling out the lines. All this snow has the maple tubing buried. So they have to walk around the lines, packing the snow down around so that when the warm weather does eventually show up, the sap won’t be blocked from flowing through a frozen section.
I’ll give you an update mid-week about the open house next Sunday. See you soon!
Hardwick Sugar Shack 