what it was...

For all those of you just dying to know what that thingamajig was from last Wednesday's post, it is a tap to collect sap from maple trees. There are eight maple trees here on the hill and it occurred to me that I could try my hand at making maple syrup. So after researching it on the web, I decided to go for it. All I had to buy was the taps and so am able to start out small and affordable. My best estimate is that I can expect 6-10 gallons of sap per tree, which should boil down to about 7 quarts (combined total). This estimate might be off because most of the trees are not sugar maples, but silver maples which have a lower sugar content and therefore will need to boil down further. This is all an experiment and a learning experience and I could fail miserably, but we'll see how it goes - I'm pretty excited.

Congratulations to Margie of Resurrection Fern, who was the correct guesser. She'll be receiving a bottle of syrup as soon as it's ready. BUT, for being good sports and playing along, Bonnie and Michelle will also receive a little something.