Gathering Kindling

Breaking sticks for kindling...

Woodpile for the first fire...

Loading the fireplace. Ready, set, cook!

A Little Bubbly, Anyone?

Mmmmmm, sweet bubbles. Now, somebody light the fire!

Sapsicle, Anyone?

Mmmmm, frozen sap in natural popsicle form ;-) She said it was good!

Icy Sap

That sap freezes in the buckets overnight...here it's being filtered to screen debris and the ice is caught on the screen as well.

First Sap Collected!

On the left, you can see the first day's haul...20 gallons. On the right is just one tree, and you can see that the bucket is already partially full and it hadn't even started flowing yet in the morning! As it warmed up, I could see the sap dripping into the top jug all the way from in my house.

How'd He Do That?

This squirrel appears to be growing right out of the tree!

But, this proves that he really wasn't...and there's no hole in the tree nor is there a branch for him to perch on. He just suspended himself, for no apparent reason ;-)

Looking Rather Pathetic...

Wouldn't you say?

Even the tail over the head wasn't keeping off the chill that day!