It is time for a syrup season and pack basket update. The pack basket is working better than the syrup making.

Cold daytime temperatures returned late last week and have hung around through the weekend. Tomorrow may be the first day in five that the daytime high temperatures reach the upper 30's. We ran the evaporator twice last week--Friday and Saturday. The small amounts of sap that have flowed since last Friday have now frozen in the bags, so it will take a real moderation in temperatures to thaw that sap let alone get the flow started once again. All in all, it means a slower and a delayed start to the season. We can remain optimistic about the prospects for the season as long as the conditions remain seasonal, that is, spring-like. It will be a brief and unproductive season, if spring quickly becomes summer-like.

The pack basket, on the other hand, is not temperature related; it is task related. It has performed very well. A three-gallon water can fits easily in the pack, which means that I can pack that amount of water out to the sugarhouse on a daily basis. The six-gallon water can, that I have, won't fit in the pack; it gets packed out on the sled, when needed. Even with the water can, there is ample room in the pack basket for lunch, extra clothing, and tools.

Here is a picture of my newest camp tool. I have no idea what material has been used in its construction, other than it must be a man-made material--at least I think that it is. It appears and feels to be as indestructible as advertised. I haven't attempted to replicate the test posted in an on-line video where a pick-up truck runs over the basket. A second test included in the video has one person wearing the pack and a second person standing in it. I guess if one tells those Maine boys that something is indestructible, one best understand that the claim will be tested. That is probably good advice to keep in mind should one find him/herself in a tavern in Maine and be inclined to brag about how many pickled boiled eggs one can consume in one sitting.  For my 3-R readers (Reduce, Reuse, Recyle), pickling boiled eggs is a cool way to reuse pickled beet juice.

It is time to close this post. I have degraded myself to the point of writing about bar food.