Joe started the 2017 maple syrup season earlier than ever, with the first boil in January—and it was a big one! This morning he was up at 3:30 a.m. checking the vacuum pumps, making sure we are capturing all the sap from the warm weather this weekend. Yesterday he and I were at Dana Center in […]
The Start of the 2017 Season Read More »
May today be a wonderful family day for you, whether or not you celebrate Easter. The Sugar Shack is officially closed (Joe is finishing the clean-up today), so there is no open house. We’ll see you next year! And remember, you can always buy maple syrup at local stores: Petersham General Store, Clover Hill, Rose
I’m sorry to say we’re all done with sugaring for 2016. This is the earliest we’ve ever ended (but also the earliest we’ve ever started, so I guess it all evens out!) We’ll be here tomorrow if you want to be outside and see the sugar house, but no steam coming out since there is
Last week was the first open house of the 2016 season. And, believe it or not, today is the last boil of the season! This has been a very strange year. The warm days and cold nights made February more like March. So we produced the majority of our syrup last month. Join us today
Last Boil of the Season Read More »
Today is the first open house of the 2016 sugaring season! Join us today, or any Sunday in March (except Easter), to see how the sweet stuff is made. It’s a sure sign Spring is almost here to stay when you see steam coming out of the sugar house. We will be boiling sap to
First open house of 2016 Read More »
This has been a very short season. Your last chance to see maple syrup being made at the Hardwick Sugar Shack is tomorrow, March 29, 2015 between 11-4. Joe and I are just leaving the farm now to go collect sap for tomorrow’s boil. Onyx and Pearl (our black and yellow labs) are awaiting our
Last open house of 2015 Read More »
Joe and I were beginning to think winter would never end and the spring sap would never flow! I’m very happy to report that Mother Nature has decided that spring will come after all, with the first boil of the MA maple season season happening yesterday here in Hardwick. Here are a couple of pictures
The Season That Almost Wasn’t Read More »
I’m sorry to say there is still no sap to boil into maple syrup. Joe tells me he now has sap anxiety…we’ve never started the season so late. Usually we have the first boil in January, one or two in February, then every week in March. So far this year: zero, zip, nada. If you
In theory, today is the first open house. In practice, the maple season hasn’t begun. Mother Nature is on her own schedule, and this year the snow and cold has put off the start of the season. As I write this morning, Joe is down at the sugar house getting everything ready for when the
After a VERY slow start to the season, we’ll be open this Sunday for our annual open house from 11-4. Given the forecast, it looks like we will be boiling. It’s been too cold most of the month for the sap to run. We need the cold, freezing night followed by the warm sunshine to
Open house this weekend Read More »
