Saturday, March 29, 2008

Guilt

The buckets still hung, the filter still drying, cleaned jars lined up on the counter, the pan in need of the final scrub of the season, sap buckets waiting by the back door: I've been having a tough time saying good bye to this season. My husband asked this morning, "Did you pull your taps?"

Sheepishly I answered, "No."

"Are you through for the season?" was his next question.

"Yes, the LP is gone..."

"You could get them refilled."

Yes I could but, is there really enough sap to justify the expense? So, for my own piece of mind and for all my maple sugarmaking friends, still boiling away -- I checked our buckets today. Six taps are bone dry. The rest have very little production.

Yes, PT -- it's okay to pull the taps, wash the buckets, and pan and pack it all away for another year. This is harder than putting the Christmas decorations away. Maybe after indulging in a short stack soaked in syrup, I'll be fortified to face the tasks at hand.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here PTCakes, live vicariously through us for a day.

http://themonthlymug.blogspot.com/2008/03/boiling-at-last-in-hartland-highlands.html

What do you like to use for a filter? My coffee filters don't pass syrup, but the finest sieve is not fine enough.

Rick

P.H. said...

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I use a real wool cone filter for filtering syrup. It's white, thick and big. I think I got it from Bascom. I've had it 4 years.

I too found coffee filters don't work.