I am very frustrated at the moment as my second post for the Canadian bush series of 2023 stubbornly persists in refusing to upload despite my best efforts to launch it into cyberspace! So while you wait I decided to try a mini post as an attempt to unravel the problem. Unravel is a fine choice for a descriptive word as I myself am becoming unraveled! Unhinged is another great word to describe my frustration! It’s like there’s a “ghost in my machine” a reference to an 80’s Police album that had some neat cover art as we entered the digital age in earnest.
I have a call into the blog’s administrator for technical assistance and hope to hear from him shortly. On a side note I offer you this consideration:If you only could see some of the comments I receive on a weekly basis! Obscene best describes some of them! Others are probably hackers hard at work storming the walls of cybersecurity. Some are advertising firms wanting their products brought into the site.My trash bin truck hauls loads of trash to some cyberspace incinerator where they cease to exist!
This is turning into some sort of new adventure! A test for my spirit energy! It’s driving me a little crazy and it’s time to have some coffee with maple syrup! What you don’t realize is that I am testing categories and tags in those past 3 sentences! We will fix this problem and get back to the stories soon! So please come back soon and watch for the blog post: Returning To The Bush. Until then MOONTABS!
Time passed quickly. One moment it seemed our Summer 2023 bush adventure was so very far away. But little by little it drew closer. Months became weeks that became days. We started planning much earlier this year. 10 people had expressed interest in going with our party as we had a large cabin rented. One by one they dropped away until a mere 7 remained. Our friend Gregger held at a meeting at his camp to finalize plans two weeks ahead of our trip. 6 attended and shortly after another person dropped from the trip. We were to be a group of 6 in the end. It would take 2 trucks to get us to the outfitter’s landing. Our destination was approximately 375 miles away in western Quebec. The same location as last year so that took some of the travel unknowns out of the equation. Not to mention it helped immensely knowing what we should bring and what not to bring. I started packing early on to avoid the hasty method I had used in 2022. Our pile of gear began to grow in size next to the wood stove at Camp Edith.
The pile grows.
I wanted to bring along some extra gear this year that would enhance the visual aspect of our trip. I rigged up a Gro Pro style mini camera on my old hard hat for hands free video recording. I also purchased a small drone that would work in the absence of cell phone service. I purchased Best Buy Total Protection insurance for it as well. Just in case of an accident. My biggest decision came down to renting a satellite phone. We had decided that it was a good idea to have one. I ended up purchasing one after getting a price for renting one. A no brainer considering the promotional offer I took advantage of with a long term strategy in mind. The satellite phone arrived over a week before our trip and I got familiar with its basic operations. Tested it a few times as well. It’s supposed to work just about anywhere in the world. We would soon see!
Iridium Satellite phone with accessories in a waterproof case.
Another situation that had to be addressed was learning to pilot the drone. Zane has one that he seldom uses but I wanted my own. We test fly both drones one windy Saturday over my Uncles meadows where the hay had been cut already. Losing them is always a possibility and my insurance doesn’t cover that! We had a great time despite the wind almost taking off with Zane’s! Mine uses my phone for its main screen. A feature that would come in handy in the bush. I got pretty comfortable with it rather quickly but like to fly with a line of sight method. Not desirable when I begin to fly to upper elevations. It’s going to take some practice! Flight times would vary and drone batteries draw down after around 30 minutes of flight. During the trip they would need to be charged which was no problem as we had already planned to bring our 2200 watt Honda inverter generator. Battery charging for our phones had been a problem in 2022. We would have no cell service but we all use our phones as cameras. Charging becomes necessary.I put together a special suitcase just for cables and electronic gadgets. Extra batteries, operating instructions, and a surge protector power strip were part of its contents.The drones as well. This trip was getting expensive fast!
Zane’s Snaptain.Testing mine at the farm. Also a Snaptain product.
Next on the list was the fishing equipment. I purchased jigs, bait floats, sinkers, and small hooks. I strung 2 new Pfleuger reels with Spectra Power Pro braided line. Unbelievably strong and rather invisible. Moss green 15 pound test is my favorite. It will rarely break and has little to no stretch. Perfect for walleye fishing! I also bought 2 new rods for us. 5 of them would be broken down and stored in a plastic rod sleeve I bought years ago for a fly in bush trip. Worth every penny for the protection it gives. A 6th pole would have to travel full length. We travel with an abundance of gear. 6 reels in a padded case and 6 poles just for us. Breaking down on a one week long trip is no good so we bring plenty of fully functioning backup. I streamlined my 4 bait trays to fit into a soft sided carry holder. Grippers, hook outs, mouth spreaders, and scissors were stored there as well. Keeping the fish uninjured and released quickly is part of our mindset. Having the proper tools enables us to do just that. But we certainly don’t release all of them! Some get eaten! We also use a rubber net. Things don’t tangle like they do with a mesh net. Our old Hummingbird fish finder was also packed. I didn’t take the time to test it prior to going on the trip. Something I would later regret! I restocked our jig assortment with a variety that was mostly blue. Blue had proven to be the hot color in 2022 on our lake.
The charging station pre-trip.
Of course there’s a lot of other things that need to be packed for a bush trip! Clothes,rain gear, life vests,and basic toiletries. I pack a rather extensive medical/first aid bag. I even brought a 2 piece Epipen unit due to the possibility of allergic reactions that I have been getting on occasion. We would be living in a very remote location and safety is important to me. Not just my own and Zane’s but everyone. The pile of gear kept growing and we hadn’t even gotten to food yet! Food goes into a plastic tote for ease of transport. Mostly non-perishable items and canned goods. We take a small cooler for milk,eggs, and hotdogs. You never know when you might not catch fish! It been known to happen! Lac Echoani in 2016. Two days with no fish fry! So what did I forget? The sleeping bags and pillows into a tote? Check! Small cooler for bait? Check! The team record book and pen from last year? Check! Things were adding up! Little by little I gathered up everything. I even remembered my 2way radios for the 2 trucks to communicate once we lost cell phone service in Quebec. And never, never forget the Canadian cash to pay the outfitter! The exchange rate was over 25% just before we left. Passports? Check! The amount of preparation time this year amazed me! But I wanted everything to flow without any glitches!
The Team Record Book.
So that’s how it all began well before our trip even started. Preparation pays off in the long run. We were all pretty excited for our week away! A chance to change our routines and break free from the valley here. A destination that would renew our spirit energy. Reunite old friends and bring in a couple new ones. A place where I would bond with my son each and every day. Life would soon be changing for him as he would be starting college soon after our trip. Out there in the bush country of the ZEC adventure awaited us. Weather the unknown variable but planned for regardless with a nonchalant attitude. Memories would be made. Our inner batteries would be recharged by tugging walleyes trying our sunken bait. Life would be very different as we synchronized to the schedules of feeding walleyes. To experience it is to truly live for the lovers of wild country. A chance to live free of the schedules of a man made society. In the bush life marches to the sound of a different drum. Oh Btw! I almost forgot the Keurig coffee maker and pods! When you travel with a generator such luxuries are possible. So check! Didn’t forget a good supply of maple syrup! Double check! There’s still a whole lot of tales to tell here! ✍️
Time has gone by quickly as I so often write about on this page. Today is a special day as it is the day we return to the bush country of Quebec,Canada! We will travel for some 7 hours total. The final 2 hours of that journey on unpaved and rather bumpy gravel roads before we reach the outfitter’s beach landing. No getting lost like last year! I have taken great pains to pack carefully. We return to Lac Dumoine. A homecoming to a place that was new to us once. Much of it still is new to us. We have not explored its many bays and extensive shorelines! The grand adventures begins!
The gear pile.
I once read that these lives of ours are a game of sorts. Not one to win but rather to play with all the goodness within us.For me there is often no one clear and certain path.The game is played wherever I chose to plant my feet.My destiny is all encompassed under endless skies.Stretching out to all horizons far and near.Above,below,and upon this earth. Always searching and forever adrift. My energy fueled by the inner spirit can’t be harnessed or tamed. On a journey of knowledge and seeking a greater understanding of life itself. For my heart beats fast for my lovely mistress Mother Nature with enduring passion and the most purest love. She beckons me to come see what’s on the other side of the next hill. Forever wild and free at heart. Age will not defy me.Until some fateful day when my mistress calls me home to her. To clasp me in a gentle final embrace. It is and will always be enough.
Connection via the satellites.
So here we go! Packed and ready at 3:30 am. Just finished my maple syrup infused coffee. Tonight we will sleep far from here. Travel and adventures waiting for us! Good friends along for a reunion of sorts. My son as well. I must seek out my tiny friend Mr. Jangles. Offer terms of peace with a truce. A new day begins!
Today is a special day! Day 48 of summer. Counting forward there are 48 more days of summer before the first day of fall! Time to really take any summer activities we want to enjoy seriously! We’ve spent a lot of time working at the farm as July has turned into August. The rail system that now supports the farm cabin Little Red was completed shortly after my last post. I nervously began planning the move of the building which we have been calling the Warming Shack for the past several years. I designed a hitch system for the move planning on using my tractor. It was an epic fail despite the fact that my tractor hydraulics could lift the building slightly. I didn’t even try to drag it! It was time for plan B!
A frustrated Zane shakes his head.
Plan B was simple. We would use two tractors for a tandem hitch and drag. The real problem I predicted was how we would get the building onto the rails. But I kicked that can down the road. Our friend Gregger showed up the next day wanting to witness the move. He spotted my neighbor’s big John Deere backhoe and asked why we weren’t using it for moving the building. I explained that we could if I could get it started. Great idea! I parked my little 40hp New Holland 4wd next to it and realized just how right he was to suggest it! My tractor looked like a toy almost next to that behemoth! It’s loader even had chain hooks welded to it. It’s hydraulic cylinders that control the bucket are huge when compared to my tractor. I knew I had seriously underestimated the weight of the building from the start. Would my rail system even hold it? It was time for plan C as the old backhoe roared to life with a cloud of belched diesel exhaust.
The cabin meets its match!
We rigged two grade 70 road chains under the 6”x8” skids that support the cabin. I through bolted the chain to them after drilling them out. We were ready to roll! I lifted the heavy cabin easily with the backhoe’s loader. We were forced to stop work as yet another thunderstorm soaked the already soggy ground even more. Lightning flashes were getting too close for comfort! After the rain subsided I hopped on the backhoe and tried to back up with the elevated building. I moved a short distance but soon got to spinning on the wet ground. No problem I decided! I hitched my 4wd tractor to the backhoe for a tandem pull. Zane tried his best but all we both could do was spin. All was lost until the ground dried out I feared. Or was it? Gregger suggested curling the bucket of the backhoe while sitting stationary. It worked and I was able to drag the building a short distance. Little by little we inched the building forward and finally with both tractors spinning with screaming engines we picked up steady momentum and gained some speed. Once we had it moving it pulled easily.
Ripping and tearing! Down for a moment to reassess.
All was well until we reached the turn by the big barn. We took my tractor off the pull and reversed the backhoe. It easily pulled the building by itself on the firmer gravel of the driveway and the redistribution on weight to its back tires. I took it up onto the road and tried to get lined up with my marker stakes that I had set in place to align the building’s skids with my rails. I was able to get it close and decided to quit for the day while we were ahead. I was shot from all the nervous activity.
At the turn to reverse the hitch.
The next day I successfully managed to get the building onto my rail system using pipe rollers and the backhoe. I got it lined up and into its final resting place by the end of the day! Mission accomplished! The rail system was a success! The building was level and no further work was needed on the foundation. I anchored it down onto the rails and that was that!
The pipe rollers make short work of the task.
Everything had lined up perfect for the electrical conduit to be attached to the building. After a few hours of work the building had a functioning outlet to power the project. Now came a labor intensive part of the renovation.Repairing and packing out the porch. Putting down a subfloor and shortening the timber frame posts that were weather damaged. My cousin Gerry and Zane helped me with that and progress was made. The weather was conducive to productive work so that was nice. I started the curtain walls next with Zane’s help. They will surround the timber frame former facade that will now become an inner feature of the camp. Protected from the weather they will showcase the antique bar wood theme I am planning. That’s pretty much where we are at right now.
The porch is about to be closed in.
There’s a lot of other things going on while we work part time to advance the cabin. But moving the Warming Shack cabin was a milestone. Worthy of a blog post most certainly. I am so glad our good friend was there that day to help us with the move. Our years of construction have taught us many things. Rigging and moving heavy objects just a small part of that. There’s lots of work yet to do before the the building becomes Little Red. In the shadow of the monster barn we call Big Red it will become an integral part of our farm property experience. Working together on it is beneficial for Zane and I. As for what else we have going on it will show itself shortly. And btw! That woodshed we saved and moved? It’s going to be the new Warming Shack I decided! Little Red will be too nice for muddy maple syrup worker to mill around in!✍️
As spring advances into May it’s easy to forget that spring actually started in late March. After some really warm weather we have had an abundance of rain lately. It’s stayed pretty cool too. But we’ve been busy with a lot of small details. Maple syrup season ultimately ended but the work continued.We had to begin the clean up and start the preparations for next season recently. We took a little break however before the cleanup started in earnest. It was time to think about foraging!
The cowslip patch.
Maple syrup is food for us. We use it in a lot of our recipes. I’ve used it every morning to sweeten my coffee for years now.But that’s another story. This time of our thoughts turn to foraging. The hills,fields,and swamps sprout their gifts for us to find. It’s a fun process! This art of collection!
Chives at the farm.
We found some early sprouting leeks on one of our ridges the other day. They were small but potent! We ended up making a turbocharged dip with them and the chives we harvested.
The spinach like cowslips. Yum!Fresh leeks ready to clean.Chive and leek dip about to be blended.
We took our collections to another level when we decided to add them to a pizza! Chives and leeks on a pizza really make the flavor pop!
Forager pizza!
And then… the apple crisp! Hit it with it maple syrup ahead of the bake? Over the top!
Oven ready!
So this super short post? Food for thought MOONTABS followers. A brief look into our spring here. Don’t worry. There’s lots to come! Eating is a big part of our lives after all. And pictures get it right sometimes!
Sugaring season finally ended this week as temperatures hit the high seventies. Unseasonably warm for April. The time has passed in a blur since my last post but that’s just the norm for syrup season.Call it the daily grind of dedication where writing doesn’t occur.The comfortable orbit of routine held steady while things continued to slowly warm up after the third week of March. The snow steadily disappeared especially after a big rain storm one night.Things were transforming quickly!
The haul roads move from snow to mud.
It’s been a good season overall. The weather cooperated well with cool nights and days that rarely passed the mid forties initially. There was a persistent breeze from the north that held temperatures down and quite a few cloudy periods.Rather perfect for decent sap flow and our gathers remained fairly steady. The evaporator repairs held together and our syrup count increased with each boil. Things were getting done and we established an effective gathering strategy of our string that eventually reached 530 taps. We added several new mini-tubing runs on some hard to reach ridge lines and they produced well late into the season.Good sap runs would yield about 400 gallons of sap. We had a mixed crew to help with the gathering with people assisting as their schedules allowed.Patrick Bourcy creator of the Facebook group Just Go Outside brought his daughter Lilly over to help one Saturday and she had a blast! We had the gathering string figured out and always managed to get the work done. Feeling tired by the end of the day was to be expected but it was a good type of exhaustion! Some aspects of our seasonal hobby never change.
Girl power! Jen,Rebecca,and Lilly.
As the snow melted away it became very muddy and the sap haul roads were a mess! Pretty typical. We had to abandon our snowy shortcuts across the meadow and take the longer road route to avoid the mud. Things were beginning to look much different throughout the sugarbush with pockets of snow remaining in certain sections. Some of the trees began to run less sap and I decided that we would need to add some additional taps to keep the intake consistent. I chose some reserve trees in the two meadows on “the hill” as we call it. We would end up using the side by side to gather them to avoid meadow damage from the much heavier tractor. It worked out well.We chased the last of the snow into the sheltered pines where the sap ran clear and plentiful. Call it a boost into a new orbit of routine.
Chasing the snow to reach the reserve trees.
The signs began to show themselves as the season progressed. Yellow sap from the smaller maples and trees that shut down entirely. The larger maples of the string began to truly release their sap and held the sap quota fairly consistent. We began to start pulling a few nonproductive buckets along the string and Jen nicknamed them “ kicked buckets”. A name that stuck. Zane and I would sometimes work alone on the late gather after his school day had ended. I would yell “kick it” whenever I decided to pull a bucket. It’s a favorite beginning to several songs I like so that’s why I was doing it. He quickly tired of it even if I didn’t. Levity is an important part of making tedious work less boring I feel. A strategy I have used for years on the construction sites to survive the long days of often menial task. Zane and I would talk about all sorts of things while we worked. I enjoyed this part of my days. He’s my apprentice of all things rural heritage. He’s still young and has lots to learn but that’s the way of things.
Lids dropped in by gatherers. Sign for a kicked bucket.
I watched the weather forecasts closely and tried to gauge whether we would meet our goal of 100 gallons of syrup. 530 taps should have been plenty to accomplish that but the weather was changing quickly and sugaring is a fickle business at times. Years ago it was very different and the seasons seemed to last longer. The old timers rule of one quart of syrup per tap for the season no longer applies these days. 400 good taps can produce 100 gallons of syrup with an ideal season. We tap more these days to compensate for a much more compressed season. The quality of the syrup has been superb! Amber Rich grade held for much of the season but eventually the Dark Robust grade was reached towards the end. Very normal and we began filling the 30 gallon stainless steel commercial barrel to sell on the open syrup market. The commercial grade syrup will usually generate enough cash to cover our operating expenses. As I watched the forecast I realized that we might not hit 100 gallons of syrup. Time was short now. But one small window of opportunity was coming before the season reached its conclusion. 4 frosty nights and sunny warm days. I knew our old string would continue to produce sap but not enough. Kicked buckets were continuing to be brought in. We would need to call in further reserve trees for a few days.They would be scattered and few but they were available in the area we call “behind the barn”.
A huge reserve tree on the Tail End String.
I set out on a Thursday morning and pulled in 50 plus kicked buckets from the original string. The reserve tree string on the hill had been a good decision and they had ran well. They were time consuming to gather but kept a nice flow coming in. I knew it was a lot of work to tap more trees for just a few days of sap flow but was gambling for a payoff. I suppose part of me wasn’t ready for the season to end. That stubborn side that likes to achieve goals. Bullish and foolish at times. Prone to impulsive decisions that add more work to an already busy routine. I had considered the options carefully I felt so I set the plan into motion. Using the pulled kicked buckets I set tapped 54 new taps on some nice big survivor maples that had beat the 2016/2017 die off.They had once been part of a couple different strings that we had ran years ago. So spread out though that it wouldn’t make sense to tap them under normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances. I called them the Tail End String.
Bringing in the kicked buckets to redeploy.
It was a very warm day for tapping and the sap burst from the fresh taps like it was under pressure. Very encouraging and I was fueled by the possibilities. 54 were added before Zane showed up to help gather the old string. We pulled in a bunch of kicked buckets and about all that remained were our mini-tubes. We left scattered buckets along the string that were still producing but our number of old taps was greatly diminished. The new plan was in place and the sun set on another day.
Until tomorrow.
The weather cooperated and we were able to continue to bring in additional sap due to the new taps. Last Monday we brought in everything that had been our original string gathering sap along the way. The new taps were kept in until Tuesday for one final gather. The Tail End String was a success. Tuesday’s boil yielded a few gallons of super dark syrup that I plan to use in crafting our Moonbeams hard cider that we are working to create. Wednesday found me working late getting set up for the final boil where water is ran through the evaporator to push the final gallons of syrup sap through. The final boil yielded an additional 4 gallons of syrup by 10:30 pm before I literally tapped out and had to quit for the day. It was over! At least the tapping,gathering,and boiling part of sugaring. Next was the cleanup. Just another part of our labor intensive hobby!
Headed to the conclusion.
In reflection I realize that this brief post doesn’t even cover the reality that was the syrup season of 2023. It doesn’t accurately describe the true emotions,the routine,or the mind numbing fatigue that ensued. But those things exist in other posts written in different times and under different circumstances. The true connections of this season still haven’t had time to completely catch up to me I feel. The magic happened and it exists in the numerous jugs of carefully crafted product that brings smiles to our customers faces. It lives in their comments to me. It lives in our hearts,photos, and in our memories. For in the midst of the conclusion of this sugaring season something more was thrown into our schedule by some sudden decisions. It’s destined for an upcoming post. It was a push but also successful in its purpose. Some things in life can not wait forever nor should the voice of spirit energy be ignored. The forward momentum begs its place in schedules.
The sugar house woodshed is almost empty! A sign of a successful season.
I dedicate this post to the members of the newly formed Macomb Sapsuckers Local 1545. A joke of sorts but one of recognition. Without the efforts of our volunteer gathering crew none of this would be possible. I thank Zane for stepping up and partnering with me. I thank Jen for pitching in for her fifth season of tireless assistance. They are the big two workers of our tiny operation. I also thank Rebecca and Randy Reynolds,Gail Gardner,Patrick and Lilly Bourcy,and Scott Force for helping us achieve our goals. I also thank our neighbor Tom whose woods produce a good portion of our sap. I cherish my unwritten agreement with him that we honor each season now. Fairness and honesty bring favorable outcomes. We truly shared some memorable moments together! As for me I am stronger and more fit then I was on February 27th. The first day. Proud of what we accomplished. Tired and ready for a break from the routine. And as securely grounded in my rural heritage as ever.We made things happen! Our tired iron held together once again. Who knows what comes next. But spring will come again next year and the sap will rise again. And I hope to be able to begin the whole process again.I leave you with my personal quote. “For each person there will be but a finite number of syrup seasons to enjoy ”.Best not miss them in my humble opinion.✍️
Today is the first day of spring and sugaring is moving along nicely. We had some evaporator issues the first time we boiled when my repairs to the back flue pan failed to hold. We lost some sap but I was able to fire down with no further damage luckily. The good folks at Mud Lake Stalls in Hammond were able to weld it back into service luckily. It was an anxious moment for me and our entire season was on the line! It was a chore to get it over to them and involved disassembling the front pan before we remove the back pan. Needless to say we got back online with no time to spare.
4×10 evaporator.
Prior to the evaporator issues we had continued to set taps and had reached a count of 400 plus. Mostly buckets but a few mini-tubes as well. Mini-tubes pick up trees on the steeper ridges where gathering buckets would be difficult. They are removed post season and then washed. They are time consuming to build but save time gathering.
Mini-tube collection containers.
We had collected about 400 gallons of sap before my first failed boiling attempt on March 8th. On Friday March 10th we launched our first successful boil after reinstalling the repaired flue pan in the late afternoon. Everything went smoothly after that and we were able to get 2 gallons of syrup before we ran out of sap. The first boil rarely yields much syrup as the entire evaporator has all fresh sap. One it’s “set up” it will yield about 2 gallons of syrup every hour.
The first boil.
We needed to use the truck’s inverter to power the sugar house lights once darkness hit. Zane and I enjoyed the moment and our season that truly launched! We took numerous photos and videos throughout the evening. It had been quite a busy week! The continued setting of taps. One very cold gathering night where we had difficulty getting the sap out of the buckets that lasted until 8pm followed by the breached flue pan that had to be repaired. But that Friday night found us entering the comfortable orbit where routine would be securely established. The weather was cooperating with cold nights and warm days. The snow was holding and there had been no wild temperature spikes. For the first time since starting sugaring I began to relax a bit.
The night boil.
It looks like it’s going to warm up quite a bit this week and we expect most of the snow to melt. We have already been into some mud but it’s going to get much worse! We are producing some good quality maple syrup and have been able to keep up with the sap flow. The season is progressing and it’s anybody’s guess when it’s going to end. We are still building more mini-tube runs and our tap count is around 550. We could find ourselves buried in sap shortly. But our little team of workers pulls together and so far we have been able to keep up. It’s time to get moving and check on the taps. Maybe the gather can wait until tomorrow. I won’t know until I get there. It’s always a gamble!
March 4th. Ironically it’s been two years since I wrote the blog post “Not Just Yet”. We have recently begun work to start the 2023 maple syrup season. About 111 taps have been set with buckets but there’s a lot left to go in! The evaporator and storage tank are mostly ready so we are in good shape. We will soon dig out our short plastic tubing runs for the harder to reach trees on the side hills.We call them “mini tubes”. I will follow up on them in a later post.
Tapping on snow.
I always like to acknowledge milestones. Yesterday Zane celebrated a milestone when he successfully passed his road test. It took some time and practice but that is now behind us.It seems strange that he could have gotten it two years ago. But I never felt he was ready. I certainly wasn’t! He will be driving my old 2013 Ford Focus shortly. That will help during sugaring and cut down on my driving. Zane is a big help with the sugaring process. He’s very strong and capable at age 18. I took him ice fishing last week when he was on winter break. Fun times!It was hard to believe it had been almost two years since we had last gone!
Nice one!
I broke out the sap haul roads the other day before setting taps. There is much less snow then most years but there were plenty of downed limbs and trees to remove. I broke in the Northern loop trail on our neighbor Tom’s property where we set many of our taps these days. For two years we have ventured a short distance up into a section of his woods on the South side of his main access road. I have been wanting to cut an entire loop road through here but never took the time to get it done. There’s a nice group of easy gathering maples there that I wanted to add to our count. Wednesday I made the decision to carve out the trail and got it finished after several hours of chainsaw work. The loader was handy for moving larger logs and brush.
Blasting through!
Thursday found us tapping the new Southern loop under warm but cloudy skies. Jen and her friend Gail came over to help me get 96 taps in place. This is Jennifer’s 4th syrup season and I wasn’t sure she would be coming at all given the circumstances of our lives. We all enjoyed the simple moments of task and toil. Some moments are best not overthought and I will leave things there. Everything went well and I was happy with our progress.
Season 4 for Jen! She knows the ropes.
It’s hard to know just how this or any sugaring season will play out. Given the wild swings of weather this winter I have been a little anxious and uncertain. But one thing remained constant: we were going to make our best attempt to make it happen! When I arrived at the farm Monday the unbroken snow was like a place of ground zero. Many things still needed to happen despite the few things we had done to get ready. I find peace of mind in the motions of checking things off our lists. The old quote says that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.
The first steps.
We got more snow last night but with the sap haul roads broken in today it should present no problem. Building a base of snow is beneficial to “holding” the season in place. Huge warm ups are bad and the nemesis of maple syrup producers. We like the cold nights and warm days in the 40’s. We are approaching a launch of sorts as the upcoming season inches forward. It inspires a certain mental image. I picture a NASA control room like in the movies. A line of system operators waiting to sound off prior to the countdown. I imagine myself being the leader in the imaginary control room of the sugarbush. It might sound like this: Tractor systems : go for launch. Evaporator systems : go for launch. Firewood and primary fuel systems: go for launch. Storage systems: go for launch. Getting the picture? The final countdown approaches but with some systems at “no go” status we aren’t at “T Minus 10”. But we are in motion and should reach our launch date. Weather is the key component. I estimate 7 days now.
Setting the taps and buckets.
So the snow has stopped and it’s time to get busy. These are the days of work that produce sweet results. The words will flow as the season advances and I will attempt to take you deep into a special place. It’s in the words of my former posts but time and circumstance bring new memories. New thoughts and new possibilities. So follow our progress as we launch into syrup season 2023!
A title is a fun part of every post as I so often mention! I don’t report to a supervisor so I have the freedom of choice here. My titles are as diverse as the life I try to live through outdoor experience. Bush life took on special meaning this year. It had been six years since we last fished the wilds of Canada. The Event had closed the border. Life had changed in the slow turn of seasons. Life continued to change. I needed the bush experience this of all years. I am searching for something someone recently told me. Adventure most certainly. But there’s something much more profound that follows travel and adventure. The words wait for me out there. They are hidden like tiny treasures with no map to follow. Hidden around the world perhaps. Most certainly here in the wilds of North America. It is through spirit energy that they may find my tapping fingers. The Grand Wander may someday connect the dots. Sometimes it’s best to grab the opportunities and not hesitate. This has been summer 2022. The only one I will ever be blessed to experience.
Our third day started out following our new routine. Coffee always for me. Perked on the gas stove and boiling hot. We had been told that our cabin had a generator but it didn’t.Greg had brought a deep fryer for fish and we never got to use it. Too bad as both of us own small Honda suitcase generators that we could have brought. Next time! Charging phones was going to get difficult once our portable battery backups were depleted. There’s no phone service but we all use them as cameras. Getting Zane up and moving was difficult in the early morning hours. But he always did when being threatened with getting left behind. I wouldn’t have though but don’t tell him that! Greg was recording the fishing competition in a notebook I had brought along. Two categories were closed out. First walleye for me. First pike for Greg. I was slightly in the lead in the most walleye category but Greg was catching up. Literally. I held the lead with biggest walleye but I knew my fish couldn’t hold that spot long at a mere 18 inches. Nice fish though and perfect for the table. We continued to catch enough to keep our fish fry count going that morning but realized we needed to do better. So we continued to try new sections on the lake. Lake Dumione is huge and very cut up with islands. There are several extended “fingers”. It was almost intimidating at times. We know walleye though and soon spotted several places we knew might hold them. We were using a portable fish finder to check for depths. Depths are crucial to successful walleye fishing. They love shelves and drop offs. I won’t bore you with walleye fishing tips but wanted to paint a picture of sorts. Three guys in a boat scouting a large lake and mapping it out for possibilities. Our fishing location from the first morning was named The Chicken Hole. Chicken Holes are an Alaska thing when halibut fishing. They contain large numbers of small fish. I named the site of our first successful catch The Chicken Hole because it had earned the title. We were doing ok but wanted to step up our catch. The morning was moderately successful but not fantastic.
The rest of the morning followed our new routine. The weather had been beautiful since that first night but some clouds were rolling in. Back at camp we started the gas water pump and filled the tanks on the ridge that supplied the gravity fed pressurized water system. We also scouted our beach area for firewood and inspected our cabin better. The cabin had a rather tired look about it. Broken door latch on the screen porch. Spots in the ceiling where the roof had leaked at some point. We had everything we needed though and Marly had told Greg that The Event had hurt their business for two years. 70 percent of their customers came from the United States. Maintenance had been put on hold during that time. Things were adding up. So morning routine. Afternoon nap. We had wanted to get out early and scout the lake prior to the evening fish. Most walleye are caught in the morning or in the evening. Afternoons are best spent with other pursuits. I walked out to the dock after I realized how dark and cloudy the sky was getting. We decided to lay low and suddenly we heard the rumble of an approaching thunder storm. The storm hit with little warning and the pouring rain turned into decent sized hail stones. The noise on the metal roof of the cabin was deafening. The precipitation tapered off eventually and I went down to bail out the boat. The hail had given it a nice scrubbing and the scent of fish was gone from it. Bonus! We set out under clearing skies to try a new location. We were getting accustomed to the lake and were venturing further out from the cabin. Our new location proved productive and we named it Raspberry Point. The reasons for this will remain silent. All I can say is that bush people live a bit different then we do! The sunset was beautiful and we returned to the cabin at dusk. The nighttime routine resumed. But our furry rodent friend had been busy!
We had seen the mouse one morning during brunch. It came from out of the bathroom and scurried around in the kitchen. I gave chase but it was extremely fast and agile. The trap continued to be stripped of its peanut butter. The mouse trap was as old and worn as most of our furnishings. I gave it a few adjustments and tried to set a hair trigger on it. Sometime in the night I heard it snap! Got him! In the morning I noticed that the trap trigger was clean. There’s a second mouse I told my companions! I walked around the cabin repeating the old quote: the second mouse gets the cheese. My companions quickly grew tired of hearing it but I was proud of my accomplishment! I found a better trap on the porch and got it functioning. Two traps are better than one! But the second mouse was a master of stripping traps. It doubled down and cleaned both traps. Greg mentioned that there were probably many mice actually. But I stubbornly clung to the idea that I was battling wits with just one. It all came down to me or him! Things were about to get even more interesting! Trying to catch mice was becoming a form of bush camp entertainment. Let’s face it there was no television or internet.
Saturday was a day of reflection for me. Three days had passed since we had left New York.It would mark the halfway point of our trip. We had caught quite a few walleye and a few pike. Many small fish had been safely released along with all the pike. We continued with our routines.Raspberry Point began to prove its worth as a walleye hotspot. Greg pounded them there that morning and evening. He took the lead in total and size. We now had more then enough to eat and began to freeze our take home limits. Six per man. We explored more of the lake but became a little caught up with fishing. We returned to the cabin that night and I had a bunch of fish to clean. Greg and Zane shared other chores but I cleaned and cooked all the walleye. We had just returned to the cabin when Greg said he had spotted the mouse! I grabbed a hiking boot and gave chase! It was an epic battle of cat and mouse. The mouse would hide behind the stove until I flushed him out then cut him off. This went on for a while. Eventually the mouse made a break for it and got past me. I dove at it with a flying leap that was Olympic quality! Missed! I rolled over and gave chase but the mouse made good his escape into the bathroom. Greg was rather dumbfounded by my antics but my determination reached new heights. I tweaked the mouse traps once more. It was close to 10pm and I was in the midst of frying the second pan of fish when the lights began to flicker. Suddenly everything went black! Out of propane. No big deal as there were two tanks. We would just switch over. Simple. Out we went beers in hand to accomplish our simple task. Nothing to this bush camp living! We clicked the valve over and I could hear the sound of gas rushing through the lines. Back to the fish fry!Things were normal for a time but suddenly the lights flickered again and went out. Two dead tanks and out of options. Never! There was a smaller propane tank on an old gas grill outside. We would swap that one into our lines. Off we went beers in hand. Nothing to this bush camp living! But the valve was so tight we couldn’t get it loose. Dinner was somewhat less then perfect. My fish had gotten soggy and everything had gone cold. But we had a much bigger problem. Our propane fridge was down also and all our carefully wrapped fish were in danger of thawing as well as what was inside. The language at this point would have made a sailor blush. No worries Greg had been in the Navy years ago. We began tossing options around. Go find our hosts at 11pm? Considered for a moment. Too risky even though we knew the lake pretty good. We agreed that going to bed was the best option. But something amazing was about to happen!
It’s hard to imagine darkness in this day of light pollution as they call it. Not true in the wilds of Western Quebec. It’s darkness like you may never experience. I had my flashlight close by at any rate. Sometime in the night I was awakened by the snap of the mouse trap. I heard some sounds of struggle but didn’t get up and things soon quieted down. In the morning I was brought to life by Greg’s animated voice. “Dude you’ve got to see this!”. I dragged myself out of bed to see an amazing sight! Two mice caught in the same trap! A true daily double if there ever was one! But my joy was short lived when I realized there would be no morning coffee. Greg and I grabbed an empty cooler before heading to the boat. We knew where we could get ice and possibly find our host. The caretaker cabin and ice house were just a few miles away. Off we went. I was rather crabby and Greg remarked that I was miserable without my coffee. Why wouldn’t I be crabby? My wonderful golden walleye fillets reduced to soggy but edible slabs the night before. Good thing Greg and Zane had eaten first while I was cooking. And then there’s missing the morning fishing outing. Greg and I spotted the caretaker cabin after traveling for a few minutes. Zane had stayed behind to sleep more. We were pleased to see two boats on shore. Both hosts would be there. I approached the cabin rather timidly after reading a sign nailed to the porch. “If you can read this then you are in range”. Makes a person want to knock on the door.No one stirred and the cabin was quiet. We left to go to our next best hope. The icehouse at cabin 6. The outfitter cuts ice in the winter and stores it in a specially constructed building. We had been told to help ourselves by the outfitter and had visited it once before while out exploring. The ice would help save our food until someone brought us a new propane tank. We knew that some of the outfitter’s family was staying in cabin 6 so Greg went up and knocked on the door. A sleepy teenage girl came to the door and agreed to go get her parents up. Back at the camp I decided to make a fireplace to cook bacon while Greg attempted to make coffee on the gas grill. We were trying to be positive and solve our problems. Nothing to this bush camping right? 😡The ice was put into the fridge and freezer where things had remained quite cold actually. Eric showed up some time later and got everything back under control. We didn’t make a scene or get agitated. At that point things were continuing to add up. We jumped right back into our routine minus having fished. I reset the mouse trap and began walking around the cabin saying “the third mouse gets the cheese!” My companions were not impressed and remarked that the third mouse had been killed so it was the fourth mouse that got the cheese. True. The traps continued to be robbed. The fishing continued to get better and better for us as our week moved forward. It was time to push for all the things that we still wanted to do beside fishing. Things were ramping up as the bush life entered a new chapter. Time was ticking away.✍️
Spring moves forward with a mixed bag of weather it seems. Super dry in the St. Lawrence valley until recently. The rains followed days of unseasonably hot weather. Hot. Cool. Cold. Hmmm. Just like the days of life. But always moving forward and counting the positive blessings. Task fills the hours and I wonder how I ever managed to keep up prior to retirement. Such thoughts fill these posts. Time the avenger The Pretenders called it. Last post May 7th. A lot has happened!
Camping season came up fast and found me totally behind schedule. A smoked out water heater control board in the Airstream that I blew off since it failed last October. Happy ending to cut that story short! I purchased an American made replacement from Dinosaur and tossed the junk “made in China” one that has plagued so many Airstream owners. After that things ramped up rather smoothly. No leaks in the travel coach fortunately. But I had blown the lines down per specifications. It pays off usually when we follow advice and procedure. Other than cleaning it was ready to roll. So it was back up, hitch, and roll. Well maybe a little more than that! The camping location had been booked months before so it was destination bound. Camping season was off and running! Pretty wild considering that one year ago we were staying in a rented camper! What to say about the drive? A 2022 Ford F-150 Powerboost for a tow vehicle ready to test. 417 ponies out front and only a 2 hour trip to the campsite. No problem!
As far as the details of hitting the campsite? Tested and tried out last season. Easy money on our large Adirondack water site. Backing into the sites has gotten much easier for me with experience. Zane,Jen, and I made short work of it at any rate. Parked under the pines the camper quickly became home. The chores done and a simple dinner consumed it was campfire time! A beautiful night for a fire once the early arriving black flies went to bed. A light breeze and the sounds of the other Happy Campers around the ponds added to the mood of settling into life on the ADK clock as I so often call it. I sat back in my chair under the stars and watched for orbiting satellites. Always a fixture of the modern night sky these days they have become a constant. I think back to the days of my youth and the first time I ever saw one as dawn was breaking over a North Gouverneur sky. We were bringing in my cousin’s dairy herd for morning milking and searching for a new born calf. Decades ago now and the satellites are much more common in the heavens. Change was gradual I suppose.
We hit it hard that first day of camping. Paddling and a little fishing. Super hot and buggy. Unseasonal and intense I soon realized as my uncovered skin burned. Damn! Forgot the sunscreen! The calm water was great for paddling but the dogs Stella and Gracie were frying so it was beach time. We had done two short canoe carries to reach a somewhat remote pond with a nice beach. We chilled for some time and Zane waded in the shallows chasing tadpoles. Not me! This pond of beautiful sand contains large leeches! No thx! We began to notice increasing black clouds and distant thunder so we decided to head back over the carries. Good decision on our part as we soon encountered whitecaps on the bigger lake we needed to cross. We barely made the camp and secured everything before the rains hit with considerable force.We hunkered down in the Airstream and made preparations for dinner while we waited for the storm to pass. Eventually Zane got the campfire going and we cooked a rack of pork ribs over the coals. Yum! Camp life was in full swing! The rains returned and we dined inside while the Honda generator charged our batteries in advance of the night to come. Boondocking keeps us busy at this campground of no hookups.But we were the Happy Campers once again! It was on and in motion with minimal glitches! The weather is unpredictable and part of it all. In our cozy Airstream it causes us no concern as we call it a day and go to sleep! The adventures wait for us to discover them!The spirit energy soars in the exhaustion of memorable days! Morning coffee will seal the deal! Loaded with maple syrup and waiting for the buzz of the new day! More to come of this trip! ✍️
