A small car full of dogs, five large dogs. When they pulled in, one was sitting on the driver's lap and two on the passenger's. I like dogs, but...

April 15, 2013 – Monday

32 degrees/rain/calm

Pentoga Road

I feel like a liberated man. After spending four-and-a-half hours gathering sap Sunday morning, I made the decision to pull the taps. Sargie went ahead cutting off the bags and twine. I followed closely with a hammer and vice grips removing the spouts. After two hours, it was a done deal.

It seems odd to voluntarily quit early, but when I think that there’s only two weeks until the first of May… well, that makes it okay. We will end up with between twelve and fifteen gallons for the year. Even giving the majority away, there should still be an ample amount for ourselves.

If a tree is a good "runner," it gets a green spot of spray paint. A bad one receives a spot of red.

Sargie and I took a celebratory drive Sunday afternoon. It felt good to not have to hurry home to boil or gather sap.

With rain and thirty mph winds forecast today, I’ll wait until tomorrow to boil down the remaining forty gallons of sap. There’s also five gallons of very concentrated sap to finish over the propane burner. Maple season is not going quietly into the night. It will take most of this week before everything is completed. When the weather warms and snow is gone, I’ll use the high pressure washer to clean the equipment before putting it up in the rafters of the barn.

I’m riding with Sargie over to Iron Mountain this morning to retrieve the Blazer. This afternoon will be spent reading and assessing end of the year projects from my students. I’m way behind on schoolwork and with the summer session beginning in less than a month, There's ample work to do.

Several have asked how Mom’s doing. She fine and resting at home. Sargie and I talked with her last night. She can’t do any weight lifting, extreme aerobics, break dancing, or mug and groove to hip hop for a few weeks, but otherwise, she’s beginning to get back to normal. She said the doctors want her to walk and that’s one thing Mom loves to do. We’re looking forward to a visit later this spring or summer.

Time to get ready to ride with Sargie to Iron Mountain. A man’s work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road…