A Taste of Spring

Dear Mom,

Today, we were blessed with 70 degree weather. My garlic is coming up!

The frogs have made an appearance in our little pond.

We are planning our outdoor projects...like how to remove the tree that blew over in the winter wind storm. I even did some weeding, and started thinking about what to plant in the vegetable garden. The maple sap has stopped, which is another sign of spring on the horizon; the sap stops flowing when the trees are ready to bud! Rain is expected tonight and tomorrow, and the temperature will drop to the mid 40's again. The weather today was a blessing!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Pure Silver Maple Syrup

Dear Mom,
The sap has been pouring out of the trees. We produced and bottled a total of 48 jars of syrup...and this is just the beginning! All of the neighbors received a jar and were encouraged to return it for a refill. The men have done an excellent job of collecting sap, cooking, bottling and labeling each jar. Despite my grumbling over the mess, I am very proud of their efforts and hard work to make this "project" a truly meaningful and memorable one!
Love, Bonnie Jo

A Nesting Hen

Dear Mom,
It was so nice to have warmer temperatures over the weekend. I was able to get out and do some modifications to the roost inside the chicken coop. The girls have grown (or should I say "fattened up") so much that they need a little extra room on the perch to sleep comfortably at night. I opened up the front of the coop, and Gloria was hard at work in the nest box!



The hens have such comical "expressions"...they make me laugh!!

Our maple syrup production is well underway. The sap was a-flowin', and several containers of various shapes and sizes are catching the sap from our maple trees. Large pots of sap were boiling all weekend long. It takes about 12 gallons of sap to make just 1 quart of syrup. That's A LOT of boiling!!

Anyone in the mood for eggs and pancakes?!!

Love, Bonnie Jo