Transition

Kermit the Frog, playing Bob Cratchit said, “Life is made up of meetings and partings. That’s the way it is.” And so, we at Justamere say so long to another sugaring season. We are confident that we will meet again. This season was a long season. We geared up for the early January run and then waited and then waited some more. We did not start boiling in earnest until mid-March and, maybe fittingly, we finished on April Fool’s Day. Admittedly, you must be somewhat of a fool to be a maple farmer. This year was unusual in several ways: it was protracted but short with only 19 boils as opposed to the normal 24 or so of most seasons; and we made light syrup. Although the flavor profile was of dark syrup, the color was very light throughout the season. Finally, there were no sustained runs. That said, we made some great syrup and are looking forward to sharing it with all of you this year. Kermit’s words have always served as a reminder to cherish the effort and memories, and we sure had a lot of moments this winter with our crew to cherish.

Meetings

The croak of wood frogs, the arrival of woodcock and the sap turns opaque. Those are the signs of spring we notice. The croaking frogs are not the sign of the end of sugaring season but a sign that things are changing. Wood frog and woodcock foretell the transition from Dark Robust syrup to Very Dark Strong. A sign that the end of the season is near. And yet we delight in each new sound and each new arrival. We got out the binoculars to see the ring-necked duck on the pond and the hawks circling overhead. We worried about where Bobby was when the vultures started circling! Meeting Jim and Bobby and having them work with us the last two seasons has been great for all of us. We worked hard, laughed hard and enjoyed each other’s company on the farm. Thanks, guys, for another great year.

Partings

Jim came to the farm at the perfect time. We needed help and he needed to be in the woods. He quickly implemented improvements, updates, cut a lot of wood, and cleared a lot of brambles. It is always sad when people move on, but we all realized it was time for us to part. Jim’s humor and hard work will be missed on the farm and I will continue to text him when I see a new bird. Thanks Jim – until we meet again.