Massachusetts maple syrup from a small family farm.
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 no sap to boil into syrup!
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 make syrup today.
Looking forward to seeing you!
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 return to play more in the snow. I think they are the only ones happy to see more of the white stuff!!!
Today Joe finished another boil and made some tasty medium amber syrup. There will be taste testers tomorrow.
Hope to see you then.
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 from the sugar shack–the roof snow and ice slowly melting off and the steam from the evaporator in action.
We will have our open house this Sunday, March 15. Feel free to stop by between 11-4. We do plan on boiling that day.
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 were planning on coming to our usual open house tomorrow, Sunday, March 8, 2015, please consider rescheduling until next Sunday, since nothing will be happening until then. The weather looks promising this coming week (yahoo!), marking the beginning of what is shaping up to be a very weird season.
Joe went to the official state tree tapping organized by the MA Maple Association yesterday, and was thankful that Governor Baker attended. We very much appreciate the time, effort, and energy the Governor took to officiate the ceremony.
You can read more about the event here.
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!
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 make syrup. We’ve been missing the sunshine and warmth! Since tomorrow is the first day of Spring, I assume the warm weather will eventually come (and yes, I hope the cold nights continue!) Hope to see you then!
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 a long one. Our first boil was in January, the earliest start we’ve ever experienced. Unlike last year which ended before it began with our last boil in the middle of March, this year we have continued to boil for over 9 weeks.
Our thanks to all our farm supporters – people who travel far and wide to come to our open house and continue to purchase syrup all year long from us. We are so appreciative of the loyal followers who tell us that our syrup is the best! We never tire of hearing it.
Wishing you a wonderful passover, a joyous Easter, and a happy spring. We’ll see you next year!
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 Hardwick yesterday.
Open house is today from 11-4. The baby cows are here visiting from Misty Brook farm and we have raw milk and cheese from Robinson’s Farm. Plus, the Hardwick Winery is open today. So if you come out to the Hardwick Sugar Shack for some great maple syrup, make a day of it and visit the other local farms.
Today I expect we will be making Grade B. We have in stock all three grades of A: fancy light, medium and dark. Plus we have maple sugar and maple sugar candy.
Hardwick Sugar Shack