Sap production

Day 8 May 16, 2023 Hours today: 8 Total hours: 39 Today we woke up at about 8:30. We went up to the trial and arrived around 9 o’clock. Once we got up to the trail we located the end and began clearing. Most of the trees were small pines. Pines are a “soft” wood so they aren’t to challenging to cut down. However, yet again the head to the axe broke which slowed our progress but we were productive. We headed back for lunch where we had some turkey and cheese sandwiches. After a quick lunch we headed back up and worked for a good 1-2 hours. After we finished up we grabbed a black lab from Mel and brought it to school to acclimate it to people.  

Day 6 May 12, 2023 Hours today: 4.5 Total hours: 31 Today we started around 9:30. Mia had to go to school to give a tour so it was just three of us when we headed up to the trail. We made good progress initially but our axe broke and it hindered our progress. We took a lunch break and headed back up. With our newfound energy and Mia we were moving fast. We cleared all the way to the rock we were aiming for and then Trask came by in the tractor. He plowed through and got all the miscellaneous roots and rocks. Tomorrow we are going to continue to clear the brush but this time we are going to widen it up at the top.

 This week was eye opening to understanding how a small family business operates and is maintained. We did three main things on the farm this week, we cleared land for the dogs to roam, created a space to start a Christmas tree business and cleared a path through the woods to help Trask start his sap production. While these tasks may not seem very entertaining in theory, in practice talking with Trask and understanding all the things he has to do on a daily basis creates a deep appreciation for all of the small farmers out there. Clearing the land for the dogs was rewarding because work that took four teenagers a day to do would have taken Trask 4 times the amount of time to do the same task. This project was quite quick in comparison to the sapling project but it was a good intro project to the ranch. The sapling project took up most of our time this week it was challenging physically, there were bugs, it was hot and we were tired but mentally staying focused when we didn’t want t...

Day 6 May 12, 2023 Hours today: 2 Total hours: 26.5  We hopped out of bed and enjoyed some eggo waffles. After our nutritious breakfast we headed up to trail and began to clear. Trask had done some work the day prior and he had a big tractor that was plowing a path through the brush. We had a saw, clippers and an axe and began hacking at the brush. I chose the saw and quickly got into a good rhythm. We were only able to work for a couple hours but we made great progress on the trail. After lots of blisters and bug bites we called it a day at the trail. We had to leave earlier than we liked because we had an early lacrosse practice.  

Day 5 May 12, 2023 Hours today: 4 Total hours: 24.5   After a hearty breakfast we began our final day of planting the Christmas tree saplings. We had already created a bunch of holes to put the saplings in so we were primarily planting today. After we finished we were introduced a new task. Our goal is to create a pathway for the mule through the woods so we can identify maple trees and better navigate the forest. Trask showed us around the woods and we got lost several time trying to find the highest point of the property. We will use chainsaws, hatchets and whatever else we need to clear the brush. The bugs were quite irritating so we headed back and had lunch. We had hot dogs and hash browns. We took the puppy to school again and everyone was exited to see her again.

Day 4 May 11, 2023 Hours today: 9 Total hours: 20.5 We woke up grabbed a bite to eat and got to work by 9. As we were driving the mule to the Christmas tree plot we ran across pigs and goats running across the lawn. This was because the pigs had pushed the water trough against the fence and knocked it over. After we organized ourselves we lured the animals into their pens with food. This unexpected turn of events was both entertaining and time consuming. We got to work on the Christmas tree plot and I landed nearly 30 saplings. It took longer than expected because much of the land we are working on is rocky and we spent a huge amount of time simply clearing it. We had to get supplies to clear the rubble and we ran over to a nearby farm supply store. We worked until about 2pm where Mel asked if we wanted to take a puppy with us to school. We agreed and wandered around proctor for hours trying to see if anyone wanted to buy her. We were unsuccessful but she got a lot of attention.  

Day 3 May 10, 2023 Hours today: 3 Total hours: 11.5 We began the day at 8:30. We got up a little earlier because we had an early lacrosse game today. We continued our project from the day before, planting saplings. However it was more challenging today because the further up we moved the more bugs and the rockier it was. We plan on finishing up the project tomorrow. We worked for a solid three hours and developed a good rhythm of measuring, marking, digging and planting. It takes time but in 10 years we can come back and cut down Christmas trees. We also saw some pointer puppies today and plan on seeing them more in the future.