Saint’s preserve us!  We had sap coming fast and furious today.  Just like the faucet was turned on.  So we have plenty to boil today through the beginning of the week.  An FYI to those who might be coming to visit – appropriate footwear is recommended for mud, snow and/or slush.  The driveway and parking area are dirt and if you want to walk out to the buckets on the trees we have close by, you will need boots.  We’ll be open Sunday March 10th from 12 to 5 pm.

NH Maple Weekend is just a few weeks away – March 23rd & 24th.  Next week we will have an updated post about that weekends activities. 

Gosh and golly.  We have had a great couple weeks for sap which means lots of syrup too.  Brian has been collecting and boiling all week so far.  Talking with another producer today we have both made more Light Amber syrup this year than anytime before.  And we are still making Medium Amber.  Hope everyone else is enjoying the good conditions.  We’ll be open and boiling this weekend 12-5pm on Saturday and Sunday.  Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead.

Steamy Wednesday – just the way we like it!

What a surprise this morning to see a few inches of slush instead of a foot of sloppy, wet snow.  Between Chester and Concord it was just rain.  But on the way home tonight it was a slick and slippery ride with the late afternoon snow on top of that rain.  Brian’s boiled and packed more syrup over the last few days so we are adding to the tally daily.

Hours         Sat March 2nd    12-4 pm                Sun Mar 3rd    12-5 pm  Boiling both days

Yesterday and last night the bucket on the tree out behind the house filled up halfway with sap.  So first thing this morning Brian went out on a hopeful note to scout up some sap for boiling today.  But no luck.  Even after almost 2 hours he had only about 50 gallons to show for his efforts.  Still it was pretty out in the woods as this photo shows.

We will be home all day so if someone wants to drop in and pick up some syrup just give us a call.  603-370-0908 or 603-887-3672.

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.