Making Maple Syrup

The first batch of syrup is sealed and cooling on the dining room table.  We began our season last week, tapping over 13 trees nearby our home.  Tapping the trees should happen when the night temperatures are below freezing, and the daytime temps reach 40 degrees or more.  We have had a very mild Winter, so we worried that we wouldn't get to tap this year.  Luckily, we got six inches of snow last week and the trees started producing!

An old Maple tree with the tap.

We collected 40 gallons of sap prior to today's cook.  It took around a week to gather this much sap.  Some days the trees produce a gallon of sap, and some days they give very little.  Our 40 gallons of sap will boil down to about 1 gallon of delicious syrup.

We use empty milk jugs for collecting the sap at the tree, and old cooking oil jugs to store it until it's time to cook.  John and I gathered around eight gallons of sap from the river bottom trees on this particular day.  The view from the river bend was also beautiful. 

John cut the wood yesterday for the all-day cookdown.  This is elm, and John says it burns hotter and longer than oak, which we used last year.  The pot is a 25 gallon cast iron boil pot, which John cleaned and carefully placed on a stand.  He built the fire underneath the pot and put some sheet metal all around it, so that the fire concentrated directly beneath the pot.  Sometimes, the wind makes it harder to cook, so the sheet metal really comes in handy. 

This morning, John built the fire at 6 am.  He had half of the sap cooked by noon.  We had two fires going all day.  One cooking the sap under the cast pot, the other on a little gas fish cooker.  The small one heated the cold sap up and then as the cast iron pot cooked down, John added the hot sap from the smaller cooker.  This keeps the sap hot through the entire cook.  If you pour cold sap into a boiling pot, you've lost cook time.  This process works well for us.

John added wood and cooked the syrup down until nearly dark.  When he had all of the sap cooked down, and had only about 1 1/2 gallons left, we moved it from the cast pot to a smaller pot and cooked it down til we had about one gallon.  We test the syrup on a cold plate.  If you put some of the sap on the plate and turn the plate up, the syrup should run about an inch and then stop.  This is how we decide that it's done.  Then, we strained it through four pieces of cheesecloth and once more through a clean cotton towel. 

And, this is the finished product.  Wonderful, beautiful, delicious maple syrup. 

Peace.

They grow up so fast!

My youngest, Kelly, is a junior in High School.  And, like most other parents, by the time you get to the third child, you've been there - done that, seen it all, nothing suprises you anymore.  You seem to be a little more trusting, a little less stressed that the world is coming to an end every time your child wants to go somewhere after dark.

Well, my youngest has proven (so far) to be a very responsible, level-headed teen.  So, this week was easy to enjoy with her.  Homecoming week at SHS consists of choosing a queen candidate from each class, decorating a "Wall" in the gym that represents the theme for the week, daily dress up events and collections of pennies.  Last night, the Homecoming festivities came to a close after the basketball game of the year and the queen coronation.

But, let me back up to Tuesday...... "Hippie Day".   I think this was my favorite dress up day for her.  She borrowed a hippie outfit from her boyfriend's mother and she looked so groovy!


Groovy "Hippie" Day!

Next was "Hip Hop Day" and she surprised me with her originality here! 

Then we had Spirit Day with the school colors.

And, last night was the dress up event!  Here she is in her pretty Homecoming dress!  She looked so pretty!

My little girl. 

Peace




Farm Visit

This morning, John and I set out to visit a friend's farm about 20 miles away.  I was given directions from Tonya, wrote them out and read them to John.  John, on the other hand, needed to check the route online, and came to the car with his own set of driving directions.  We were to be there by 10:00 for the milking.  Well, his route got us lost!  We found ourselves on a logging road, I think....turning around, searching for signs.  *sigh* MEN!  We were so lost, I actually peed in the woods.  We went 10 miles our of our way, but finally arrived at 10:30, highly stressed.  Well, I was anyway.

The reason for our visit, was to meet the cow that Jerry and Tonya want us to "cow sit" for a couple of months in the Spring, while Jerry recovers from a hip replacement surgery.  He wants to bring the cow to our farm and let us "have" her until he heals up.  Before promising anything, I wanted to meet this cow.  This cow that stands there all by herself, and doesn't move a muscle while you easily milk 3 quarters, in no time!  She is about 7 years old and so absolutely sweet!  I am excited that I am considered for this honor by our friends. 

Our Cinnamon and Bambi are currently at another friend's farm "visiting" with their bull.  They have been there for two months now.  I'm missing my girls, so getting to milk this cow this morning was a real treat.  I also brought home some fresh milk to enjoy.

I love having such wonderful and caring friends.  Tonya and Jerry are always so ready to help, to answer questions and offer anything that you might need.  And, having self-sufficient homesteaders like them as friends, makes them even more special! 

So, in the Spring, I might share some photos of Josie, if I am lucky enough to get her for a while.

Peace

Garden Work in January!

Today, John decided that we needed to start the clearing out of a few trees near the garden plot that are preventing the sun from getting to the garden in the early part of the day.  So, we finished our morning work and set out to cut some wood.

We have a fairly large garden plot, approximately 1000 square feet, but before today, it only got the hotter evening sun.  So, knowing which of the trees needed to come out, John started cutting.  He's been cutting wood since he was old enough to say "tree", so he fell two right off the bat.  Put them right where he wanted them.  He cleaned up the wood and cut it into lengths perfect for our wood furnace.  Then, it was my turn to help!

We pulled the wood splitter (the greatest thing since sliced bread) right over to the wood and away we went!

We had that wood split in absolutely no time.  And, we could see immediately that the garden would benefit greatly from our labors.

Now, for the stumps.................. and that's another day.  But, for now, we have a nice supply of green wood to season for next Winter, a good feeling inside and a sore shoulder.  :)

I ended the work day with this.............

Peace

My Christmas "Ah-ha" moment.

As I study the scripture this Advent season, I dwell on one particular aspect of the story this year.  During a devotional time at my women's group a couple of weeks ago, the text mentioned "swaddling clothes".  We talked about what we thought swaddling clothes were in those days.  Being a group of women ranging in age from 45 to 82, we had all read the stories hundreds of times and we have all decided in our minds what swaddling clothes were.  We came to the conclusion that they were strips of cloth wrapped around the newborn child, probably a little firmly (like a newborn blanket is wrapped tightly around a baby in the hospitals today). 

Strips of cloth.  His mother wrapped Him in strips of cloth.

We finished our devotional, went on to our yearly Christmas dinner and then finished up with our gift exchange.  I received a nice cookbook from my secret pal and a pretty ornament for my tree.  But, during all of this holiday celebrating, I couldn't put the thoughts of the "swaddling clothes" out of my head. 

When I arrived home, I picked up my Bible and looked up the burial of Jesus' body after He was crucified.  They wrapped His body in strips of clean linen cloth.  "Ah-ha!"  The Lord was wrapped in the same way at His birth that He was wrapped at His death. 

Strips of cloth.  I have no doubt that His mother, Mary, helped wrap Him in strips of cloth, once again.

I'm sure most or all of the people in those days were wrapped the same way as Christ was, but for the Bible to put this picture in my mind, at this time of year, leads me to once again think of why Jesus came.  He was born to die.  He was born for me, to die for me.  The parallell of the "swaddling clothes" brings the Birth story full circle again.  I always knew this.  But, just having it justified once more, in scripture, in a new way, gives me another reason to really again celebrate Christmas this year.

And while we will have gift exchanges on Christmas morning and a trip to the extended family's home an hour away, lots of food and visiting, my Savior will not be far from my thoughts.  As I unwrap my gifts, and as I watch my family unwrap their gifts, I will think of Jesus as my Savior that was "gift-wrapped" for all of us.  Twice.

Merry Christmas to the Christ child.  Happy Birthday to my Lord and Savior. 

Good tidings of great joy to all of you.

Peace.

Another favorite! GRANOLA!!

I am going to share another of my favorite recipes with you today.  Homemade Granola.  John and I eat this with milk in the morning for breakfast and in the evenings for a quick snack before bedtime.  It's so good.  But, the best thing about this granola is you know what you're eating!  Here goes........

Begin by adding the butter....YUM!!  Real butter, not that fake stuff.  Melt it in a medium-sized sauce pan, very slowly.  When it is completely melted, add the honey and salt.  Do not boil this mixture.  Set aside.

In a bowl, mix the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon/sugar, wheat germ and nuts.  I prefer pecans and almonds, but you can use what you love the most.  Tonight, I just used pecans. 

Mix this together and add the butter/honey mixture.  Stir well.  All of these ingredients are gonna get to know each other very quickly.  Pour this wonderful-smelling concoction onto a well-greased (I spray with canola spray) cookie sheet pan.  Spread it out evenly and try to pat down with the back of the spoon. 

Bake this for 10 - 15 minutes, until it looks like it's browning a bit, remove from the oven.  Using a spatula, press down while hot.  Let cool, remove from pan and store in air-tight container.  Remember, to prevent the granola from sticking to your pan (and having to pry it out with a hammer and other barn tools), remove from the pan when it's cooled enough to touch.

                                                                            ENJOY!!!

Homemade Granola

3 cups of uncooked oats
1 stick and 1Tbl butter
2/3 cup honey or sorghum
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tbl salt
1 Tbl cinnamon/sugar mixture
1/2 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup nuts, any type

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Follow directions above. 


Peace.

Happy Thanksgiving

As I spend the day before Thanksgiving preparing the pumpkin for the pumpkin pie, making the cranberry jello salad, pecan pie and cherry cobbler, I am reflecting on the things and people that I am truly thankful for.  It's been a tough year for me spiritually...within the walls of my home church....but I remain faithful to my Savior.  I am thankful that He is with me in times of trial and in times of joy.

Today, I also reflect on the other things for which I am thankful; my loving family.  No doubt, second to my Savior, my family is truly my rock.  They are the ones I crave companionship with and they are the ones I depend on for advice, love and support.

My job has been faithful to me as well.  I have a great job that allows me to support three thriving families.  I am thankful that He put me there at the right time. 

I am thankful for the good health of my loved ones.

Then, I can't help but think of those who are hurting.  My sister's stepchildren are about to lose their grandmother.  Cancer is an ugly thing.  I pray that she knows her Savior too. 

Pat lost her brother this week after a long illness.  Bill will face a surgery in the coming days.  Sharon lost her dad this week.  Willie struggles with her faith.  Bill has found a new church family, but his wife attends a different one to support her mother.  April leaves her job and faces a new journey.  Anita still searches for her father.  My father struggles with lonliness, one that we cannot fill.  Two families lost their sons to suicide last week in the community in which I work. 

These folks will be in my thoughts for a while. 

I rejoice that an older man, without family, will join our family for the big feast tomorrow.  Boy, is he in for a trip!  But, I also pray that he sees our love of family while he visits with us.

So, to anyone who might read this.  Give thanks for the important things, things you cannot buy.  Open your heart to someone who needs you.  Give thanks around your Thanksgiving dinner table, one person at a time.