We have called an end to the 2011 syrup season this afternoon after evaporating the last of the sap collected yesterday and finishing the last 2 and 3/4 gallons of syrup. We ended the season with a total of 47 and 1/2 gallons of syrup.

Clean-up remains--pulling the taps, dissembling the bags and bagholders, and washing all that stuff and more. We will tackle those tasks on Monday.

The snow and snow mixed with rain of last night and this morning with moderate temperatures helped mark the end of the season. There has been no sap flow since yesterday. Our sense is that any sap now will not be good for syrup,

When I returned home mid-afternoon, the snow had pretty much melted. The lawn appears to be considerably greener than it was yesterday before the snow. Moisture and nitrogen are probably responsible.

I need to make a trip to the library to replenish my reading materials. During the syrup season, I read a biography of Ted Geisel (better known as Dr. Suess) and a memoir by Susan Brind Morrow entitled "The Names of Things." Ms Morrow writes of her travels in Egypt and the surrounding countries in the 1980's and 90's. Her work is an insight into a very different Middle East than the one now making the nightly news. It was also a much more cordial place, at least for a European/American woman, who spoke the language, and embraced both the antiquity and the earthiness of the place.