The Roman Emperor Hadrian, while building the Roman Empire, once said "Brick by brick, my citizens, brick by brick."
And, that about sums up our preparations for maple season.
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| Sunday, Jan. 24th, 2016 |
Little did we know (and I'm very glad we didn't!) that we would experience a devastating fire in May and would be totally replacing most of our equipment and building a new sugar shack!
All things considered, it has worked out well. Back in July we found a great deal on the perfect-sized evaporator and arch for us, along with a storage tank, some bulk barrels, and few little "extras" that are proving quite handy.
And, it just so happened that this summer, Will's employer was getting rid of a slew of commercial-grade metal shelving that will be extremely useful in keeping us organized during maple season! Don't 'cha just love freebies!
Don injured his knee mid-autumn, which slowed us up a tad. But, bit by bit, on the weekends and their days off, Don and Will, with Rosemary's and Grace's assistance, have gotten us closer to that magical moment of "READY, SET, FLOW..."!
Having worked with a very modern, "technology-everything" producer last year, we knew we wanted a reverse osmosis (RO) machine. It can cut boiling time down by two-thirds! Now, we weren't looking for one with all the bells and whistles, like hers. Unfortunately, however, even a used RO machine the capacity we'd need costs, roughly, $5,000. Upon taking a closer look, though, Don determined that he could build one - a simple and straight-forward version, for a fraction of that! He and Will spent many-an-evening pouring over information on the web, as well as looking at various schematics shared by those who've done it.
Don diligently seached and found the best prices on each component and ordered from various websites, as there is no "kit" for such a project. (Hmm, could be onto something there...)
Over the past 5 weeks he has gradually taken over our office/schoolroom. (Good thing the girls do most of their lessons in their bedroom or at the kitchen table!)
As I mentioned before, we are a DIY kind of family....
Actually, whether by necessity or choice (both, really!), Don has become King of DIY...so, he reveled in this challenge, while all I could do was pray and have faith! (I'm definitely no mechanic or engineer!)
As of this blog post, all of our main lines are up, "sap ladders" have been created to overcome some elevation challenges in the sugarbush, the sugar shack, the tanks, the evaporator and arch are ready, the releaser is just about ready to set in place, and plenty of wood has been chopped to keep the evaporator boiling hot.
The RO machine will take another evening or two to complete, and we need one or two days of 35-degree weather to run the lateral lines from the new trees to the main lines. Today is turning into one of those gorgeous winter days, so they'll surely get some of that done this afternoon. Then, we tap our, roughly, 650 trees and wait for the sap to flow!
In addition to the start of maple season next month, William will begin his 4-week internship for his automotive technology program in mid-February, and I begin cosmetology school!
Having worked with a very modern, "technology-everything" producer last year, we knew we wanted a reverse osmosis (RO) machine. It can cut boiling time down by two-thirds! Now, we weren't looking for one with all the bells and whistles, like hers. Unfortunately, however, even a used RO machine the capacity we'd need costs, roughly, $5,000. Upon taking a closer look, though, Don determined that he could build one - a simple and straight-forward version, for a fraction of that! He and Will spent many-an-evening pouring over information on the web, as well as looking at various schematics shared by those who've done it.
Don diligently seached and found the best prices on each component and ordered from various websites, as there is no "kit" for such a project. (Hmm, could be onto something there...)
Over the past 5 weeks he has gradually taken over our office/schoolroom. (Good thing the girls do most of their lessons in their bedroom or at the kitchen table!)
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| It's not finished, yet, but we're getting very close! |
As I mentioned before, we are a DIY kind of family....
Actually, whether by necessity or choice (both, really!), Don has become King of DIY...so, he reveled in this challenge, while all I could do was pray and have faith! (I'm definitely no mechanic or engineer!)
As of this blog post, all of our main lines are up, "sap ladders" have been created to overcome some elevation challenges in the sugarbush, the sugar shack, the tanks, the evaporator and arch are ready, the releaser is just about ready to set in place, and plenty of wood has been chopped to keep the evaporator boiling hot.
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| One of three "sap ladders" in the sugarbush |
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| Running more main line to accommodate over 200 new taps. |
The RO machine will take another evening or two to complete, and we need one or two days of 35-degree weather to run the lateral lines from the new trees to the main lines. Today is turning into one of those gorgeous winter days, so they'll surely get some of that done this afternoon. Then, we tap our, roughly, 650 trees and wait for the sap to flow!
In addition to the start of maple season next month, William will begin his 4-week internship for his automotive technology program in mid-February, and I begin cosmetology school!
It's going to be a very exciting month on many fronts, so keep following for updates from Westbrook Farm!
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