Collection Day

Saturday was the first collection day for maple sap. The crew gathered in the afternoon and headed out to the woods.
When Gary was a kid he enjoyed driving the tractor. He still enjoys driving the tractor, but look at the new recruit he has. Kelly takes on the wheel.
Laura found a full bucket of sap. There were many buckets that looked like this.
The collection crew. Dominique, Laura, Matt and Joe.
Laura and Matt working on their teamwork to empty some of the full buckets.
This bucket did NOT make it into the tank.
Not good. I think he found a hole.
Case to the rescue! First time playing in the mud after it's paint job.
Wagon hooked.
Wagon NOT hooked.... In the effort of pulling the wagon out, it came unhooked with about 1,400 lbs of sap. We used the draw bar on the tractor to lift the weight of the wagon out of the mud to hook back on and pull out.

'Twas the Days Before Syrup

The buckets were hung by the maples with care, with visions the sap would soon be there!!
The tapping has begun. Sunday we tapped part of the woods after clearing out the trails once again from the snow storm.
This is the road going into the woods. It won't be long before the creek overflows the road in the thaw. Always good for crossing over the running water with a load of sap to haul up to the house.
Because of the fresh snow, we hooked the dogsled to the snowmobile to haul the taps around. Kelly held onto the bucket with Matt on the back.
And then there was the snow storm we experienced Thursday to Friday. It left us with about 14" of fresh, heavy, wet snow. No challenge for the Deere though. Gary cleared the driveway twice during the storm.
This was Thursday morning. The calm before the storm...

Birthday and Sap Prep

This weekend we were home. Eric and Amanda came over for dinner Saturday night and we celebrated my birthday. It's always fun when they come over. The girls were especially excited because they brought Jenny, the dog, with them.
Amanda and I enjoying our wine together. (Thanks Laura for taking our pic!)
A sampling we had with our pork loin dinner. And no we didn't consume all three bottles at one setting.
Today we started preparations for syrup season. First thing we had to do was move equipment around. The four-wheeler needed a little "jump" start after resting for the winter months.
Then we headed to the woods to start breaking trails. The weatherman predicted warmer temps for today. I wasn't really feeling them as we went through the woods.
As Gary broke open the trails I followed with the sled. The girls and I packed down the high spots.
Finished trail. The trees to the left will be lined with buckets next weekend.
Gary and Joe setting out buckets that will be hung next weekend. (Doesn't the tractor look nice back in operation?)
Kelly found her tree to place her buckets. (side note... all the fresh air had Kelly asleep by 6:10 tonight) If the weather cooperates next weekend, we're going to tap.

Winter on Tug Hill

I haven't been the best at updating lately. Our winter seems to be going by quickly. We have tried to take advantage of the snow, while we still have it, spending it at Brandy Brook. Here are some of the pictures that we have taken over our last few weekends at camp.
At Flat Rock, these golden retrievers seem to own the place. You are greeted both outside and inside by the many that run around. They are quite friendly.
Must be this group had a long day of greeting.
Laura and Kelly sharing some of their excitement they have for Brandy Brook.
The girls thought it would be cool to climb up to the top bunk that Gary stays in. The four of us stay in one of the rooms together. Gary and I take the top bunks and the girls stay on the bottom.
The majority of the trails are groomed to ride on. However, there are times when Gary feels adventurous and takes us on a "short cut". It's in there some where! Sled to the left didn't quite make it up the hill. The guys had to lend a hand to it.
At the top of the hill Gary had to saw a tree out of the way. Here he is sharing the experience with the girls.
Laura had enough and was looking for some snacks.
This past weekend was Valentine's Day. The girls and I tried to make cookies for the guys at camp. Only the oven didn't quite work for us. The bottom cooked quickly and left the tops not so done. I give the guys at camp credit though. They saw how important it was to the girls and tried them anyways.
At camp there is no power or plumbing. Except when Gary chops a hole in the ice and pumps water up to the camp. There is a 55 gallon drum in the upstairs of camp that holds water for washing. Most of the time we just melt snow on the wood stove. This weekend it was a treat to have "running" water. I also found it interesting to watch Gary, who is a second generation member, show some of the third generation boys how it was done.
Some of our friends that enjoy camp with us. Father/son/daughter moment. Laura handles it well being the only girl at camp.
Parking at camp can be interesting at times. This time we thought it would be fun to line them up at the front of camp. Just for something different to do. You find the simple things are fun at camp.

MLK Holiday and Sledding Fun

Last weekend was a long weekend for the kids because of the holiday. We decided to go back to Brandy Brook for the weekend. There were other families in camp and in total we had 19 people over the course of the weekend. Always a fun time when we visit.

This is a picture of us at the Gorge. One of my favorite spots to stop at. I think I may have a picture each year of us on this rock. Maybe even 10 years ago when Gary and I started riding together. Seems like a long time when I think about it, but still a favorite for me.
We rode to Barnes Corners for lunch on Sunday and stopped at Tugger's. They hadn't opened just yet for business. Our friend Natalie offered to stay with the girls while we went to gas up the sleds. When we came back they had made this nice snowman for the restaurant. Lucky for me I caught it in mid-fall for the photo op.

This weekend we are having some down time at home. Taking in some of the nice weather here. Grandpa came for a visit this morning. Laura and he decided to have some sledding fun.
After Laura showed Grandpa how to use the tube, they were off!It didn't take them long to compete how far they could go with each other. This was the hill by the barn. After some practice trips, we took them down to the garden hill to see who could master that one.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Tug Hill! How do the Hayden's start the new year? Go camping! New Year's Day we headed to Brandy Brook to spend the weekend. It was snowing lightly and the girls were full of excitement. The first snowmobile trip of the season.
Camp all ready for visitors. There were 10 of us in camp for the weekend. Which was helpful when you have 3 fires to keep going.
Just some of the wood we use on the fire at camp. Each morning we "throw wood" to restock the box before leaving for the day.
A family shot in front of the fire place, aka Tug Hill TV.
Laura finding an icicle around camp.
Kelly had to have one too.
One of the many traditions at camp is to "open" the pond. Gary always seems to be the first one on the pond. He makes trails on the pond and then the kids follow them for entertainment.
Kelly and Laura play with Kelsey in the snow. Kelsey was their friend who reached the icicles. Kelsey started coming to Brandy Brook when she was Laura's age. Now she is 14 and still enjoys it.
We stopped by Flat Rock to warm up. These are just some of the sleds in the parking lot. The windmill in the background was not running but the many others on the hill were.
Laura wanted to try out a Ski-Doo.
Kelly was not happy about having to go home.
Driving home in the snow at 80 miles/hour. Well not really. Something happened to my speedometer. Project for this week.
It actually warmed up as we were coming home. It was -6 at camp and when we came off the hill we hit +6. What a regular heat wave.
Just some of the snow we had at home. It was a good thing Gary put the car and truck in the garage before we left. Snow totals as of tonight are 54". Fulton continues to make national news. Last time we had this much snow at one time was 2004.