Season Update

We have been busy little bees on the farm this weekend. The weather is frigid!

If you have attended the festival and explored the Children's Activity Center, you may be familiar with our candle making activity. If not, we have an activity where children of all ages can make their own candles using wick and melted wax. There is a $1.00 fee, with all proceeds going to a local charity.

The wax comes in large 10 pound bricks. Each brick must be smashed into small pieces so they fit into the metal containers. Jenny, Mason and I have been smashing wax for several weeks. 

Large bricks - these are already broken in half or thirds. 

Smashed wax - about three inches square. We go through about 150 pounds of wax each year.

The Sugarstore is currently being renovated. We removed the three small cotton candy bins and built one large cotton candy bin. This frees up a ton of space in the Sugarstore and should greatly improve the traffic flow in the store. 

We also built new shelves to create a barrier to separate the checkout line from the shopping area. During the busiest times of the festival, customers waiting in line to checkout will congest the shopping area. I think this change will make the store so much more customer friendly and will accommodate our large crowds.

The guys are still working in the woods replacing spiles and tubing. The new spiles are smaller in diameter but a little longer. They are supposed to improve our vacuum system and produce a greater flow of sap while being a healthier option for our trees. 

The new spiles are black - the old spiles are blue.

Yes - Robert has a busted thumb. 

Jenny is bottling syrup. We are getting close to the end of our supply until we make more this season. The weather looks great so far for a great season. 

Robert finished servicing all of our vacuum pumps. We had several that needed new carburetors and a few that had small issues. 

 

Busy...busy...busy. We are planning on making a trip to Michigan next week to pick up out jugs and our large supply order. We are also hopefully purchasing a new reverse osmosis system while we are up there. We need to mow all of our parking areas, continue cleaning buildings, and hopefully make a lot of syrup within the next 5-8 weeks.