We call this the T field
A cat's cradle of maple sap tubing.(Do click on the woodland pics. They are much better large.)
Alan went out to cut firewood yesterday. It was so incredibly sunny and lovely and fine that I hiked up to join him...and took the camera along of course.
There is a neat cycle going on here with this wood cutting thing. This particular woods is a sugar bush. Most of the trees are hard maple and we let a local fellow tap them each spring. He gives us a couple of gallons of good quality syrup in return as well as cutting down dead trees and thinning a few undesirables for us. These he left along the edge of the field last winter and now we are cutting them up for heat.
Our quarry, the elusive dead elm treeThe cats cradle of sap lines is amazing considering how very steep this woods is. I went down into it and clambered along the top and I have to tell you. Every single time falling crossed my mind I started to slip. I had to concentrate on keeping my feet under me every step I took. It is hard to imagine what it must be like to lay out line like this on these hills in snow. A team of goats might come in handy.
Steep, baby, steep!(Consider the size of the old lady shadow to envision just how steep it is.)
Whenever the kid took a bucket load of nice, dry elm down to the house, I sat on the end of a log and watched the maple leaves swirling down. Although most of them just sort of float and glide, every tenth one or so rotated down around its stem like a whirling top. It was amazing how far across the field they flew. The air was crisp and cool with a leaf-scented breeze made pleasant by the sun beating just above the horizon like a warm, bright heart. I actually was sorry when the saw began to cut in a curve and the kid decided to wait until he could use the vice to resharpen it.
Close up of the maple tubing
Our maple guy isn't the only one drilling in this woods!
Playing hooky while the saw clutch cooled
NY's Old Bones
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9 comments:
I love these "field trips" through photos :) The scenery is just beautiful.
That sugarbush is an incredible resource. I'm sure you love that yummy syrup and to have that renewal heat source must be a great feeling of security. We do not have a sugar maple on the place. It gets bony a couple miles up the road and that's where the maple start growing.
Good for you and Alan - I can't think of a nicer way to spend the day than enjoy the beautiful fall weather outside with my son :)
Those slopes can be deceivingly steep ... and the leaves cover up the unevenness. And wow! Fall has passed into winter up there. Really nice post.
Sounds and looks like a magical day for you both!
Thanks for sharing your day. We have a large wood lot up in the hills that we hope to build on someday, that's at least half maple. I've toyed with the idea of sugaring ... but letting somebody else do it is probably the better deal. Syrup for free!
You have a sugar bush, how cool. Do you feed the squirrels to keep them from gnawing on the lines? The sugar bush we visited near Herkimer, I think, did that. They were also famous for twinning black sheep. Sorry, can't remember the name of the farm that was 20 years ago.
It looked like a gorgeous day for a wood hunt. Loved the field trip like Deb.
beautiful! makes me miss home. *sigh*
Love the tour of the sugar bush, we have nothing like that here.
What a great way to spend the afternoon, soon you will be posting about snow - sigh - every sunny day is a blessing now.
Deb, The only drawback to letting the guy tap our trees is the little holes from the spiles. We tried to sell a couple logs as veneer...these are huge, straight, clean trees and their value was less than a third or worse because of the holes....talking thousands of dollars. It was a nice day. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Robert, They sure are. I finally went back up out of the woods, because I kept stepping on hidden rocks and stones and it would have been a dangerous fall offa there. thanks!
Tipper, it was. We don't get many like that this late in the season
Akagaga, My dad and my younger brother and I have sugared and I have done it alone. Hard work, but fun, especially if you just do it on a small scale. Nothing like making your own.
Gscottage, we just let the maple guy deal with all those issues. I don't think he does anything about squirrels and there are sure a mess of them up there. All through the woods there were places where they were digging out the roots of all the violets and eating them. I will have to ask him next time we see him if they bother.
Linda, thanks, it was nice and we have a nice big pile of wood so we can be warm this week....for which I am exceedingly thankful, as you can well imagine.
Ericka, thanks, sorry you are homesick....
Nita, how I hate winter! We work harder every day and get less done...
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