Delivery Day

Mason and I went on another delivery trip yesterday. We made all of our
regular stops in the Indianapolis area. We ran into a band of snow
between Columbus and Indianapolis on the way up there, but nothing too
serious. Mason slept almost all the way up there. I usually time our
departure from home right around nap time.

Our first stop was at Good Earth Natural Foods. This is our favorite
place to visit because it is located right on the canal and we are able
to feed the ducks. Mason is a certified duck whisperer.

Mason wanted to stay longer, but he was freezing. I guess ducks trump
being cold, because he had a huge fit about leaving the ducks behind.
We spent at least 10 minutes telling each duck goodbye…individually.

We made our next stop at Green BEAN Delivery. They have a new
warehouse on 25th street, so it was a little different than last time.
The guys at the warehouse are always super nice and unload all of the
boxes for me.

We also made a quick stop to Pogue’s Run Grocery on 10th Street. Mason
was getting hungry and sleepy again, so nothing exciting to report.

We got back on 65 towards home and Mason decided that it was time for
lunch. We made pretty good time headed home. We got stuck in traffic
for about 30 minutes right outside of Seymour. The road construction
is terrible on 65. Hopefully it will be nice when it is finished. I’m
so lucky that Mason is so good in the car. We always have a great
time.

We are going on another delivery to Bloomingfoods on Sunday. My car
was loaded to the max with the Indy deliveries. Hopefully next year I
can upgrade to an SUV.

We will be working at the farm all weekend again this weekend. There
was a chance of snow for Saturday. One station was predicting 3-5
inches, one station was predicting 8 inches, and the weather app on my
phone says 46 and sunny. I have absolutely no idea what is going to
happen!!!

Working Weekend

We had a nice two day working weekend at the farm this past weekend
(December 13th and 14th). Robert and Nic are still replacing lines and
spiles. It is taking a little longer than expected, but the end result
will be well worth it. We are lucky – the weather has been cooperating
so far. There is a chance of snow this coming weekend. Maybe we will
have a white Christmas!!

Yes, it's muddy!!

Pre-made drop lines. Jen did a great job!

Jen and I worked on our to-do list outside. My mom had a day off on
Saturday, so she watched Mason for several hours. Jen and I cleaned
the kitchen, cut down more limbs and bushes, located and cleaned trash
cans (talk about a scavenger hunt!!) and counted supplies to re-order
for this upcoming season. We also took our two cotton candy machines
in for a good cleaning and service.

The boys closed shop early on Sunday and attended the University of
Louisville Cardinals basketball game. Robert is a HUGE UofL fan. Jen
and I went to Rock’s on the river and Mason terrorized the entire
restaurant. Life with a toddler…..

Jen and Mason

Our family is getting ready for Christmas. We are having Christmas at
Mom’s house on Saturday this weekend. Jen and Nic are going to be in
Michigan visiting Nic’s family on Christmas. Robert and I spend
Christmas Eve at his mom and dad’s house, and we spend Christmas Day
with his grandmother. Lots of yummy food, presents, and family time.
Mason has been terrorizing our tree. I’m not sure why I decorated the
bottom half of the tree. He re-arranges everything he can reach on a
daily basis.

Speaking of Mason, he had his school Christmas program on Monday. This
is his first year in preschool and his first Christmas program. He did
such a good job! He didn’t cry, he sang most of the songs and he did a
lot of the hand motions. He’s only two and quite a few of the little
ones in his group were in tears. Proud mama here!!

Craft and Food Vendors Wanted

We are currently looking to expand our food and craft vendor area at
the festival. Our festival draws 8,000-12,000 customers over the four
day festival. The 24th annual festival is February 28th and March 1st,
and March 7th and 8th, 2015. We currently have 50+/- vendors each
year.

Vendor Area

Vendors must be pre-approved before receiving an application. We limit
our vendors to old fashioned and handmade items. No mass produced,
plastic, 31 purses, sunglasses, etc. are allowed.

Ken Powell - woodworking 

We charge a booth fee of $50.00, which covers all 4 days of the
festival. At this time, only outdoor space is available to new
vendors. Outdoor vendors are welcome to bring their own
tent/easy-up/canopy. Electricity is very limited.

Gatlin & Sons Knife Co.
Interested vendors should view our website
http://www.lmsugarbush.com/2015vendorinfo.html for additional
information and guidelines.

Earth Drops-handmade soap 

If you believe you fulfill our requirements, please send an email to
sugrbush@wcrtc.net , including pictures and a description of the items
you sell, or a link to your website/Facebook page, if available.

Applications to approved vendors will be mailed out the first week of
January, 2015.

Please share around!!

GIVEAWAY and season update

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….syrup season!! The countdown
has officially begun. Only 8-10 weeks until we begin tapping our trees
and only 12 weeks until the MAPLE SYRUP FESTIVAL!!

That means it is GIVEAWAY time!! Our Facebook page (LM Sugarbush LLC)
has reached 1,395 likes as of today. When we reach 1,500 likes, we
will give away one container of delicious MAPLE CREAM to one randomly
selected person from our Facebook followers. Head on over to our
Facebook page - Make sure to like the page and share our GIVEAWAY post
to enter! MAPLE CREAM would be absolutely delicious on cinnamon rolls
around the holidays!!

Here is a link to the facebook page: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=176916219007867&refsrc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpages%2FLM-Sugarbush-L

If the link doesn't work, please let me know. I’m new to this so I’m
still learning!!!

Robert and Nic have been busy working in the woods. Nic had a day off
work on Wednesday and Robert and Nic both worked all day Saturday and
Sunday over the weekend. They are making great progress replacing old
spiles and updating the tubing system. Nic and Robert cleaned our
holding tanks in the Sugarhouse and everything is being prepared. Sap
will be here before we know it.

Jen and I were at the farm all day on Saturday. We trimmed hedges
around the music cabin and the vendor cabin. I think with all of the
craziness of taking over the business last year we missed a year
trimming everything. They looked like an overgrown mess. We also went
though all of our to-do lists, staff lists, vendor lists, and started
to put together a new sponsorship package that we are offering this
year to local businesses. Busy day!!

Mason and I made two deliveries on Thursday last week (December 4th).
Mason had a cold so we didn’t do anything interesting. We made
deliveries to Apple Acres in Bedford (right off highway 37). Apple
Acres is a small apple orchard and family farm. They do U-Pick apples
while they are in season and they have a wonderful little store. You
can stock up on some wonderful apple cider, caramel and candied
apples, and many other gifts and goodies. We also made our regular
delivery to Bloomingfoods in Bloomington. No good stories this time.
It was pouring rain most of the day and Mason was fussy.

We will be at the farm all weekend this coming weekend, and probably
every weekend until mid to late March, 2015. Come on by if you would
like to purchase syrup!

Work Day!

Syrup Season has begun! Our pre-season work in the woods has started!
Nic and Robert spent the day in the woods on Saturday pulling lines
and replacing tubing and spiles. Our project this year is to replace
our aging tubing system and some of our spiles. It will probably take
several years to phase out all of the old tubing, but we are making
good progress. The old tubing gets very brittle in cold temperatures.
This causes many unnecessary repairs and vacuum leaks. It is a lot of
extra work to replace the tubing, but it will pay off in the long run.
A work day was a great way to burn off all of the turkey and pie
calories!

Jen and I don’t work out in the woods that often – Mason always comes
to the farm with us so we work on things around the house most of the
time. Jen bottled two rounds of syrup for orders this week. I
organized and cleaned the bottling and packaging area. Mason played in
the mud and dirt most of the day. It was quite warm, about 55*.
Needless to say, my tub is always destroyed by Mason’s bath after a
day at the farm. I could plant seeds in there!

From here on out, we will be at the farm every weekend, barring
unforeseen circumstances or terrible weather. The guys will continue
to work in the woods every weekend until late March. Jen has a lot of
syrup to bottle and the festival prep is about to hit full swing. We
will begin to send out information packets to all of our vendors and
media contacts in early January. All of the buildings need to be
cleaned and the store is being renovated!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. Our
Thanksgiving was at the farm. We had a full house with Wendy, John,
Carter, McCall, Tim, Kathleen, Dee, Joel, Jen, Nic, Mom, Caleb,
Robert, Mason, and Me! Hopefully I didn’t forget anyone.

I made a roasted turkey with herb butter. Nic made a smoked turkey
using maple sugar and other spices as a dry rub. Both were equally
delicious!! Lots of napping followed.

Mason and I will be making another delivery to the Bloomington area on
Thursday. Check back for a delivery day update!!