The syrup season is limping along trying to stay ahead of more spring-like conditions. I am not sure how much longer it will be able to stay out ahead of bud break and the associated changes spring brings to the maple trees and plant life, in general. The bit of rain that we received yesterday may hurry that process along.

We collected 80 gallons of sap yesterday. We will evaporate that later today as we hope for a decent run to be collected later this afternoon.

With yesterday's collection, we should have 10 gallons of syrup for the season. With the looks of things, this will be our lowest production in 8 years, and that includes the early years when we tapped 100 trees and not the current 175. I refuse to label it as "the worst year," because we grade our seasons on several criteria and not just syrup production. The three partners were together for a long weekend at the start of the season. The pace has been comfortable. I think we missed the early season snow pack and the snowshoeing and sledding, but without the snow pack, it is so much easier to move around in the woods. The woods are such a great place to be at this time of the year. Come to think of it; anytime is a good time to be in the woods and at the same time being a very real part of the woods, that is, interacting with its life cycle, such as making syrup, making firewood, or improving the sugar bush. It is not the same, at least for me, to simply pass through on a hike. Backpacking or canoe camping are intermediate activities; prolonged ventures require one to interact more intimately with that environment and do so on its terms.