Hambone was my official bag boy Thursday afternoon while I pulled the taps.

April 13, 2018 - Friday

32 degrees/clouds/calm winds

Pentoga Road

I'm thankful that it appears the first part of the big winter storm has been significantly downgraded, at least for today and most of Saturday. I lay in bed early this morning worrying about Sargie driving to work in wet, sloppy, snow, but it appears it is going to miss us. There is a winter storm watch issued for Saturday evening into Sunday. Thankfully, Sargie's off at five Saturday afternoon and doesn't have to work Sunday.

The maple season is over on Pentoga Road. We finished boiling yesterday afternoon and the taps have been pulled from the trees.

Our final take? Four gallons/three quarts. My goal was to process between four and five gallons. 

A few jars have already found homes elsewhere

For what began as a somewhat dismal maple year, it ended okay.

Thursday began less than stellar when I walked out the door into three inches of wet, sloppy, snow.

Since there wasn't much we could do about the weather, Neighbor Mike and I lit a fire in the boiler and the day was on.

We were visited later in the morning by Germaine and her high school friend, Terese, who grew up in Iron River, but has lived her adult life in LasVegas.

Terese, Mike, Germaine, Hambone

Terese is a newly retired educator and along with another friend, stopped to see how the maple process works. 

Grady was a lot of help during the day. He served as Lunch Delivery Boy at noon, transporting sandwiches and drinks that Grandma Sargie had prepared out to the boiling site.

Since it takes two hands to walk through deep snow, Grandma Sargie tucked the food into his hood.

Of course, after going through all that work, he enjoyed his man-time with the big boys by bellying up to the over turned barrel and inhaling a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. 

While Hambone was munching away on his PB&J, we were enjoying some of Sargie's homemade soup along with hard crust bread and butter.

With Neighbor Mike working the boiling process, Grady and I took off for the south woods to pull taps. 

His job was to empty the bags of what little sap there was and place them in a five gallon bucket. 

A very wet and cold boy returned from the woods. It was time for Grady to go inside and see Grandma Sargie.

They spent the rest of the afternoon putting together puzzles and playing games.

Mike and I finished boiling late in the afternoon.

The pan was moved inside and the last of the syrup processed. The 2018 maple season came to a close.

Seems there was always a shadow nearby, ready to swipe a finger through any syrup that might have escaped the canning jar and landed on the counter.

Germaine and Mike left for Marquette well before dark. Macrea stopped by for a visit and it was later in the evening before we bade him and Grady farewell. Just like that, the house on Pentoga Road is once again peacefully quiet.

Sargie opens the Vision Center this morning. I'll go for my usual walk then I'm going to do... NOTHING. 

I'm planning on reading today, taking a nap, catching up on a recorded television show or two, or maybe, I'll head to the shop and begin work on a frame for the church scroll saw piece. Also, I just remembered, there are tomato plants that need transplanting into four inch pots. 

Oh forget doing nothing. I don't have time for that nonsense. After all, everyone knows that:

A man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...