The Places You'll Go, The People You'll Meet

What a lovely December day!  Reminded me of the mild December we experienced the year we moved to Central New York. (Quite different from the last two years!)

In the words of 19th century author, Amelia Barr, "The great difference between voyages rests not with the ships, but with the people you meet on them."  And, indeed, this maple syrup voyage has brought many interesting people into our lives!

Simply put,   "It's not about the destination or the journey; it's about the people you meet along the way."


Folks have asked us, "How do you do at the craft fairs and farmers' markets?"  Most of the time, what they mean is, "How much money did you make?" and "How much syrup did you sell?"







Yes, we do need to recoup our expenses and we always HOPE to make a decent profit, but I try to keep in mind that people are infinitely more important than money.

Each individual with whom we interact is made by God, in His image, therefore he or she is "somethin' special"!

A smile, a wave, a conversation - I believe it all matters.

So, yes, we made some money this weekend, but I hope we also blessed the folks who stopped by our table at the Tully Craft Fair, because I sure felt blessed to meet them!

We enjoyed the sights and sounds - the creativity of the crafters and artists, the Christmas music of the little high school band, the wonderful aroma of the homemade soups served by the boy scouts (I had butternut-curry soup, mostly because the scout serving me told me that his mom made it with the squash and onions he had grown in his own garden!), and more...

Speaking of the importance of people....follow me here...  

                     Our hens.....still.....are not laying!  The molting period should be over, and yet, we are still only getting one to three eggs each day.  Might be time for a new flock....




I was feeling quite frustrated until I noticed an "eggs for sale" sign four houses down and across the road from us...offering an excellent price!  It gave us the perfect opportunity to get to know these sweet neighbors, a retired couple who thought it would be fun to have some animals around, but didn't want the - ehem - challenges - of a dog.  I am enjoying my weekly visits with them, as well as the fresh home-raised eggs we prepare for breakfast and use in our baking.






During my walk through the woods today, I noticed some branches and tree limbs have fallen on our maple lines these past couple of weeks, so we'll be taking care of those tomorrow.



We still have 12 quarts and 4 pints of delicious 2015 maple syrup in inventory, as well as one of those maple breakfast baskets I posted on Facebook last week, so contact us if you're interested.





And, finally...

We realized that Sassy Anna was getting a bit bored and needs "a job". However, we do not, yet, have a cart for her to drive.  The girls have been playing games with her, in-hand, and "long-lining" her in the harness we have, but, Rosie was looking for a new challenge, so... she decided to start her under saddle...

Yay!  Go, Sassy!  This did not happen in one session.  Rosie and Grace have been working up to this over the past few weeks, weather-permitting.

Who says you can't teach an old dog (or horse) new tricks?

There's definitely more training ahead for Sassy, but I'm so proud of the three of them!  Maybe one day next summer, I'll take Sassy for a trail ride. I haven't been in the saddle for two years!