The sap has been flowing quite nicely over the past few weeks and Jon’s new setup has worked SOOO much better than last year’s method.  This silver maple however is the only one showing us any love.  It was the opposite last year with this tree hardly producing and the other one doing all the work.  I’ve been trying to research why some trees may not produce certain years…can you tap the same tree every year?…nothing I researched said otherwise, but still unsure.

We’ve been cooking up 5 gallon batches at a time and so far we’ve canned 4 quarts of syrup which is twice as much as we were able to collect last year with our late start. We may get one or two quarts more but the weather is giving us indicators that it may soon be time to close up shop.   The syrup is unlike anything else and well worth the effort.  It’s certainly not a difficult process…just a timely one….you simply pour the sap into a pan and boil it down…each of our 5 gallon batches seems to take about 6 hours each time.

Look at how different the coloring of the syrup is from the earlier taps to now.  Taste seems to be the same throughout though.  Being it’s our second year, we were a bit better with things and I only wish I had more maples to tap!

Did you know you can also tap Birch and Walnut Trees for sap/syrup? I don’t have any birch trees, but we do have a few Walnuts….will have to try it out next year and see what it tastes like.

Fun, Fun, Fun! Yes, indeed.

Cheers!

michele.

We put our focus on chickens this past weekend and went around and visited with a few friends that had some experience and started sketching out our thoughts on what kind of a coop to build.  It of course will consist of salvaged materials where possible and be built to house about 12 lovely ladies.  We have a lot of raccoon and other predators to consider, so we’re trying to set it up in a way that keeps them safe AND free….I’d love to just let them roam free most of the time, but not sure if that’s the best idea.   I used to drive by a house on my way to work that just lets their chickens run willy nilly and it would break my heart to see a dog running alongside the road with one in its’ mouth, or to see them get hit by cars because they were of course fascinated with what was on the other side of the street versus their own yard….ugh…I had to start taking an alternate route to work lol.

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Yesterday was a GORGEOUS day!  We all took advantage of it and got a few things done in the yard.

While Jon worked on the tractor, Berkley and I made the rounds cleaning up some garden beds and breathing it all in.

• Babies LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the outdoors.
• They are so content outside.
• They seem to nap better and longer.
• They are naturally entertained and sit in one spot way longer than they’d sit in anything indoors.
• They find it soothing whenever they’re disgruntled about something.
• There are no store-bought baby gadgets that can top the great outdoors, in my opinion.
• It’s free, always available, and such a great resource no matter what the child’s age.

Nature is this mama’s friend, for sure!

Cheers!

michele.

My mom salvaged this great book for me for Valentine’s Day to add to my little collection of holistic health reads.  It got me thinking about our garden plans and how nice it would be to have one of the beds dedicated to the plants that you commonly turn to for beauty products and home remedies.  Things like…Calendula, Lemon Balm, Mint, St. John’s Wort, Chamomile, Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, Johnny Jump-Ups, Chicory, Plantain, Lambs Quarters, etc… Read the rest of this entry →

My mom shared a great tip with me over the weekend.

For those of you looking to score inexpensive ball chain material for your jewelry creations, opt for the ceiling fan/lighting pull chains instead…You get a lot more material for your money and you can also purchase the extra clasps in order to adjust size and easily customize several necklace chains out of one package. Read the rest of this entry →

The three activities that I find to be the most refreshing, therapeutic and ‘balancing’ are gardening, yoga and the creative arts.  It’s almost impossible to walk away from any of them and not feel invigorated.  Our February workshops celebrated creative expression with repurposed materials and no rules, no fear.  The studio was filled with the loveliest of people every weekend. They were all given the same materials and each of them walked out of here with their own unique pieces…THAT is the power of creativity (and the part I most look forward to with every workshop….it’s so exciting to see the individual ideas and vision that gets expressed….I too went home inspired every time!) Read the rest of this entry →