Boiling is over

I’m sorry to say we’re all done with sugaring for 2016. This is the earliest we’ve ever ended (but also the earliest we’ve ever started, so I guess it all evens out!) We’ll be here tomorrow if you want to be outside and see the sugar house, but no steam coming out since there is

Last Boil of the Season

Last week was the first open house of the 2016 season. And, believe it or not, today is the last boil of the season! This has been a very strange year. The warm days and cold nights made February more like March. So we produced the majority of our syrup last month. Join us today

First open house of 2016

Today is the first open house of the 2016 sugaring season! Join us today, or any Sunday in March (except Easter), to see how the sweet stuff is made. It’s a sure sign Spring is almost here to stay when you see steam coming out of the sugar house. We will be boiling sap to

Last open house of 2015

This has been a very short season. Your last chance to see maple syrup being made at the Hardwick Sugar Shack is tomorrow, March 29, 2015 between 11-4. Joe and I are just leaving the farm now to go collect sap for tomorrow’s boil. Onyx and Pearl (our black and yellow labs) are awaiting our

The Season That Almost Wasn’t

Joe and I were beginning to think winter would never end and the spring sap would never flow! I’m very happy to report that Mother Nature has decided that spring will come after all, with the first boil of the MA maple season season happening yesterday here in Hardwick. Here are a couple of pictures

Still waiting…

I’m sorry to say there is still no sap to boil into maple syrup. Joe tells me he now has sap anxiety…we’ve never started the season so late. Usually we have the first boil in January, one or two in February, then every week in March. So far this year: zero, zip, nada. If you

Where’s the sap?

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

Open house this weekend

After a VERY slow start to the season, we’ll be open this Sunday for our annual open house from 11-4. Given the forecast, it looks like we will be boiling. It’s been too cold most of the month for the sap to run. We need the cold, freezing night followed by the warm sunshine to

Season’s over, no open house today

Happy Easter! Because of the holiday we will not have an open house today. In fact, not only is it Easter today, it definitely feels like spring. With the warm temperatures, and no freezing at night, the season is over. No complaints here; it has been the best season ever for us. And it’s been

Today’s open house

It is a beautiful sunny day here today. Yes, it’s a little on the cold side, but the sun is bright and it’s early. I little more warmth today and the sap will begin to flow. We will be boiling today. Joe picked up all the sap from our many spots at Quabbin and around