We’ve been a little lazy in the blog-o-sphere of late, and some catch-up is due. To take things in reverse chronological order: this weekend Ethan and I did NOT go out to the farm. Which means that sugaring is over for another year. (Over, with the exception of selling syrup and cream, which we are still perfectly happy to do!) The previous weekend (i.e., the last w/e of March), we set out to do a little more sap collecting, and the ceremonious removal of buckets. The crew was Margie, Ethan, Kate and me. Margie and Ethan were ahead sap collecting and removing buckets, while Kate and I ambled along behind removing spigots (see right) and stacking buckets. It may sound as though we had the easier tasks, and we probably did, but removing spigots is a decent wrist workout, and stacking buckets requires a fair amount of shunting steel, so it wasn’t too leisurely of a stroll.

We paused a couple of times to check out the wondrous nature in our orchard. And by “we” I mean Kate, who would notice something practically indiscernible, and then point it out to me as I prepared to march blithely past. The best thing, I thought, is shown in the picture left. Can you tell what this is? Animal? Vegetable? I certainly would have missed it, but it turned out, improbably, to be a worm. Its disguise from fierce predators such as ourselves was to simulate a small twig protruding from the tree. It was so convincing I had half a mind to snap it off to prove it (and Kate) wrong, but even upon gentle touch I could tell it was all the wrong texture – in my experience, very few twigs are fleshy and they rarely recoil and quiver. Earlier, before danger presented itself in the form of Kate, it had been happily climbing up the side of the tree in more typical worm mode.

I also had a flashback to high school with a brief lesson in reproductive biology, as we came across some vernal pools, pictured below (the trees are in reflection). In these you can make out (it may require clicking on the photo to enlarge; you may also require very good eyesight and a dash of faith) “spermataphores” – the white blobs at the bottom of the pool. These, apparently, are sperm deposits from male salamander, left in the hope that a female will come along and fertilize her eggs by sort of hovering over them (at least I think that’s what Kate said). This site has another shot, although it also bleakly claims that “these spermataphores will not be used.” Not sure what went wrong for those unlucky salamanders…

And so eventually the final load of sap was collected, and the buckets taken down to be collected later in the pick-up truck (that is in fact a whole other story of spinning tires and tractor hitches, but I won’t even go there, mainly because I didn’t have my camera). It was a little sad to stack them – the piles of downward-facing buckets looked somehow grim and misplaced when they had so recently all been upright and harnessed to collect sap; at the same time, the season is a lot of work, and we definitely wouldn’t be able to manage it all year on top of our usual lives and jobs. We have a few related pictures we’ll probably share here soon, but with the arrival of warmer weather (not before time!), the maple work is essentially done, and we will begin to hatch plans to add to the business for next year.