We Have Lift Off

After checking on the trees a few times last week with disappointing results, I was not convinced that we needed to head back to the maple grove until the end of this week.  However, with a few busy nights in a row where we would be unable to get away to collect sap, Ian suggested that a quick trip out to check the taps could not hurt.  It turns out that he was wrong.  It could hurt.  I hurt.  Very much.  All over.  But let me rewind.

I was not loving the idea of toting Alistair in the baby carrier out into the knee deep snow that currently blankets the maple grove, so I opted to wait for Ian to finish work so I could leave Ali with Daddy.  Instead, I took Liam to be my helper; at least he can walk!  Though I did not know it at the time, this was the wisest decision that I have made in years.

Liam and I arrived at the taps around 5 pm to find a large part of the grove submerged under water.  Not deterred, we trekked out to the first tree.  Liam flipped the lid to find the sap bucket almost overflowing.  As exciting as this was, it was also an "uh oh" moment as I did some quick math in my head trying to figure out exactly how much sap I was going to have to haul out of the forest if all of the sap buckets were full.  Uh oh, indeed.

Liam and I emptied full sap bucket, after full sap bucket, after full sap bucket into 23 L pails.  It took us two hours and we filled 7.5 pails.  We (and by this I am being generous since Liam being six cannot carry a 23 L pail) hauled each pail across the slush lake that had suddenly popped up over night and back (uphill) to our van.

By the end, our feet were soaked and frozen and I had to drag my butt into the van.  What a huge amount of work!

Overnight and all today we have been concentrating the sap using the reverse osmosis filter and we will begin boiling tonight after the peak utilization period for electricity.

I owe Liam a huge "Thank You" for being my moral support.  He cheered me on the whole time I lugged buckets from tree to tree and especially as I dragged them back to the van.  He even dubbed us team "Lummy" for Liam and Mummy.  I love my big boy, though I cannot wait until he is old enough to do some of the carrying!  What an adventure.