Brian went out early this morning to scout the trees and see if any sap ran yesterday.  A few had a couple inches in the buckets but not enough to boil today.  That’s the way it goes sometimes.  But we will be opening at 11 am instead of 12 since we don’t have to wait for Brian to collect.  As an added bonus today we’ll have some Maple Cupcakes from Chesters’ own E & D’s Cupcakery, LLC.  They get their maple syrup from yours truly for their maple buttercream frosting.  Yummy stuff!  Supplies will be limited today as a trial offering.

And we’re off!  as they say into a new maple season.  So far this year we are seeing much more seasonal weather than last year at this time.  With a little luck this will bode well for a good year (or at least a year better than last!).   Brian started tapping last week and with the mild temps mid-week he started collecting and boiling.  Today he expects to finish boiling off the sap from the last few days runs.  It’ll be cold today and Monday so we may not see a run again until the rain comes in on Tuesday.

YIKES!  How about that wind today!!!  My car was pushed around quite a bit on the highway coming home from work. Although surprisingly we had no power outages.

Again we stand on the verge of a new season.  Brian is in his day-to-day checking of the weather forecasts trying to pick when the best time is to start tapping.  Ideally we want some cold so you can take a few days to get completely tapped before the sap starts running.  But everything is in place;  the wood for the evaporator has been ready and stacked for months, the buckets and spiles are all freshly scrubbed and clean and there are cases of jugs waiting to be filled with fresh, hot maple syrup.

This year will make our 4th season as a participating member of  a group of sugar makers across the state working with the Maple Watch research team at UNH.  We collect sap at various intervals through the season and freeze them.  Records are kept to help the researchers know what factors were present at the time of collection and then syrup made from the sap is also collected and frozen to be sent to the lab for analysis.  Studies are hoping to find out how maples are doing and if, and how, environmental changes factor into their well-being.

This weekend Brian will be at the Newburyport Farmers Market at the Tannery from 9 am to 1 pm.  Then we’ll be absent from the market until after sugar season is over.

For over a month we have been getting geared up for the Open House. Our many thanks to all who came by and supported us, as it was a great weekend for us. All our wreaths sold very well and we had only a couple left for Sunday.  Regrets to those who came by later and could not find what they were looking for.  Now it’s time for getting the tree and decorating the house for the holidays.  Of course there is the shopping and baking and Christmas cards to write out and mail.  Gosh….I better get busy!

We will have holiday hours for the next 3 weeks Thursday through Saturday from  12 noon to 4 pm.  Other hours can be arranged by calling Brian at 370-0908 if you need to pick up something for the holidays.

Our Shop readied for the Open House 2012

The wreaths are ready and the shop is setup for the upcoming Holiday Open House.  A few last items need to be made to complete our preparations.  Luckily we are not getting any of the drenching rain from the west coast.  The weather will be seasonal which is good.  Remember our wreath greens are all freshly cut after hard frosts set the needles so they will hold on the branches for months.  You can even use them indoors and they will maintain the needles and great green color through the New Year in most cases.

HOURS this WEEKEND will be: 9 am to 4 pm Sat Dec 1st and 10 am to 4 pm Sun Dec 2nd

We still have 2 more Farmers Markets this year in Newburyport Ma.  Sunday Dec 9th and Sunday Dec 23rd both from 9am to 1pm

Hope you all had a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving.  We’ve been working on our traditional day after meals.  Breakfast – apple pie, lunch – turkey sandwiches and dinner turkey, gravy , potatoes, peas and stuffing of course. Mom and I spent the day putting the prepped decorations on the real wreaths today and we have 15 done so far.  Here are a couple to check out.  Lots more to do this week and plenty of maple products to get packaged and ready too.

Williamsburg style fruit wreath

Frosted greens and cones with a cheery Cardinal