Michigan

[M.sue]

I even changed my avatar in case you missed it. I still like the gnome statue.

Raz....your avatars keep getting better & better....this one is too cute!

Bad wind...farmer friend across the street lost a hay barn last night. Hopefully insurance covers it because besides the barn the hay is wet now and his feeder calves, steers, and others use the stuff. Off to gather more sap and get ready to boil tommorow.

That is something I wouldn't want to wake up to. Feel sorry for the guy and YES hopefully the insurance covers it......I cringe every time I total up what we pay out in insurance.

How many trees do you tap? My in-laws this year allowed an Amish Family onto their property Northwest of us to tap some trees. We haven't been up there to inspect yet but I imagine there are hundreds of buckets all over the place.

 

[RaZ]

Ah, maple syrup. I have a batch of maple-mead that is ready to bottle. Maybe I should get on that and have some available for Chickenstock.

 

[SillyChicken]

Raz, yes you should!


Farmerboy, glad to hear your birds are responding to the treatment!


Olive... which TSC had that silkie?

 

[NovaAman]

So, ANYWAY!

We are supposed to go back into the 20s here tonight. HOWEVER, back to the 50s by Saturday, AND according to what Terri DeBoer says, we could see the 70s soon! Can you imagine, the 70s in March! So crazy. Got to love Michigan weather.

RaZ, is there anything you don't have a your fingers in? How do you get anything done when you seem to have a buttload of hobbies?

Olive, I don't think I could have passed up on the silkie. I am waiting for my TSC to let me know they have some. I am thinking though that I had better go and look for my self soon... Like tomorrow when Jace goes to school.

So, check it out...Leila has moved out of the broody coop. She now sleeps with her littles in one of the nest boxes in the garage. Maybe, I won't give the broody coop to the other littles and I will just go ahead and get more pullets. HEEHEE!

NOPE NOPE NOPE! I have 11 pullets that should start laying about May. What would I do with more than that?

Leila started laying. She laid her first last night, and while she was in the box, one of her littles tried to get in there with her. Roger, he was outside her box, standing guard, making that low HURRRRRRRR-ing noise, and he chased her little off. What a good roo! He's a good daddy too. I promise I will get pictures of them... The sun is coming out, maybe I will go and get some now...

Is anyone interested in some cockerels? I mean, does anyone want one to HAVE not eat? And by that, I will eat them before I give them away to be eaten. I have a few extra, and now would be a good time to take one... Otherwise in May, they'll go to Camp Gumbo.

I have to go and clean the duck coop. I am over due on it, and it smells. OMG! I never noticed it in the winter, but now, with the weather the last few days... AND I SAW FLIES! FLIES!!!!!!!!!! I am ready for spring, but flies already!

 

[chickflick]

What a gloomy day. It's raining with a mix of snow right now. Temps really dropped. Winter still has it's grip on us. This after such a beautiful day yesterday. My daughter and I took a long walk in the park yesterday. We almost got hit by a tree limb that snapped off. If we hadn't stopped to look up, we both would have been under the branch. But, we continued on our walk. We just wanted to enjoy the day.
Does any one need/want a quilt rack? It's pine and stained walnut. If you don't like it, can always paint it to match your decor. Just let me know.
Welcome to the newbies. Enjoy all the chatty people. I'm not one of them, but do drop in now and then.

 

[uchytil]

That is something I wouldn't want to wake up to. Feel sorry for the guy and YES hopefully the insurance covers it......I cringe every time I total up what we pay out in insurance.

How many trees do you tap? My in-laws this year allowed an Amish Family onto their property Northwest of us to tap some trees. We haven't been up there to inspect yet but I imagine there are hundreds of buckets all over the place.

I tap a few dozen trees but I end up with so much I gift it out. I could do a commecial operation but you really need to run tubing which makes the woods look like something out of a horror movie. I average 3 gallons per tree per day. This year the flow is sporadic but I still got more than last year already. If the temperatures climb too high the sap will stop and some people will miss out. I flyfish for salmon and just found a new way to use that stock - Maple glazed salmon, Oh My!

 

[swampducks]

Every winter I tell myself I ought to buy the stuff and try it myself, but I never do. I've heard you can tap more than sugar maples, like birch, which is good because I don't have any sugar maples. But as I have no idea how to do it, I never bother. Price of a quart sure has skyrocketed in the past year or two.

I tap a few dozen trees but I end up with so much I gift it out. I could do a commecial operation but you really need to run tubing which makes the woods look like something out of a horror movie. I average 3 gallons per tree per day. This year the flow is sporadic but I still got more than last year already. If the temperatures climb too high the sap will stop and some people will miss out. I flyfish for salmon and just found a new way to use that stock - Maple glazed salmon, Oh My!

 

[Juise]

We want to try tapping, too, but don't have any sugar maples. I only just found out (too late) that you can tap any type of maple, sugar maples are the best producers, though. That's okay, I'd take anything over nothing.

Maybe I should plant some, but oh! What a long wait.

Hadn't heard birch, we might have a few of those on the property.

 

[Juise]

Ack! The only site I could find that listed age instead of diameter (which doesn't help me because I don't know how long it take to grow to 10 inches in diameter,) said 40 years!

 

[uchytil]

Yes you can tap a variety of trees, however, maple is what I tap, and yes, I tap any maple that flows sap. The syrup is as good, if not better than any you can buy. Anyone that has a friend with a tree should ask to tap it. If they are worried about the tree you can tell them commercial sugar bushes tap the same trees their Great Grandfathers tapped with no ill effects. If you have a tree, let's say, 20" in diameter you can put 2, or three, taps in (2 anyway), and pull enough sap for a small family (unless you eat pancakes every day). For someone just trying it out you can use a turkey fryer set-up outside, or a small fire pit (which will blacken your kettle). If you boil in the house be warned you will have walls to wipe down! The steam makes a mess of walls, ceilings, etc. Making syrup is as addictive as buying chickies, and duckies, and bunnies, and.....