March 31, 2014

March 30, 2014

The maple trees in the woods.

March 29, 2014

March 28, 2014

The barn has a moat of mud around it.

March 27, 2014

Shamrock

March 26, 2014

Red maple in our back yard.

March 25, 2014

More snow today.

March 24, 2014

My son's Minecraft torch.

March 23, 2014

The kids up at the spot where we camped last year.

March 22, 2014

We went to the farm for the weekend.  The boys went out to help Grandpa throw tree limbs out of the hayfield. 

March 21, 2014

Spring break started today. 

March 21, 2014

This tree filled it's bucket to overflowing.  It's finally getting warm enough for sap to run well.  It's a bit late in the year, some years sap is done by now.

March 19, 2014

I made syrup today.  I had 3 pans boiling, plus one in the corner warming it up a little.

March 18, 2014

We got some sap today- along with some big chunks of frozen sap since they haven't completely thawed yet. 

March 17, 2014

My daughter's class went on a field trip to a sugar shack where they were making maple syrup.  There's a lot of steam inside that little building!

March 16, 2014

We checked on the sap today.  There was some in the buckets, but it was frozen solid.  It wouldn't even come out of the buckets in a cube, so we left it all back there.

March 15, 2014

The kids' Lego game.

March 14, 2014

I'm finally seeing some daffodils poking up through the mulch.

March 13, 2014

Stuff I need to collect sap:  One middle child, big thermos, garden tractor (with chains) and a trailer.  We keep getting the tractor closer every day as the snow gets softer and melts.  We got it to the rock (in the background) today.

March 12, 2014

There was another snow storm today.  The kids had another snow day (I think this is up to 9 days- they're going to have to go an extra 4 days at the end of the school year). 

March 11, 2014

We finally got some sap today.  Only two buckets had this much, the rest had about a quarter of a bucket.

March 10, 2014

I took the kids to the back with me today.  The thermometer said it was in the low 50s, but it didn't feel that warm.  The stream still has a thick layer of ice, which the kids had to check out, up close and personal.  Only the oldest broke through, with one foot. 

March 9, 2014

Some of our sap buckets.

March 8, 2014

Yesterday was the elementary school's family fun night.  My son won a raffle basket with gift cards to some local stores.

March 7, 2014

We tapped maple trees this year.  They're all the way in the back and can be rough to get to this time of year.  We can bring the garden tractor to where the woods start, where all the snow still hasn't melted.  My daughter went to check the buckets with me today, though there wasn't any sap yet- guess it's still frozen.  She ran a little bit back to the cub.  Wish I still had that much energy!

March 5, 2014

Much of the snow is gone around the house.  The sun was even out!

March 5, 2014

Aluminum shavings

March 4, 2014

Two of our miniatures we're currently working on. 

March 3, 2014

Some of our clothes hanging in the laundry room.  The boys seem to have lots of shirts with stripes.

March 2, 2014

My husband has been making terrain for his wargames.  Our daughter thought it would be fun to paint.  She enjoyed it for a little while before handing the roller back over.

March 1, 2014

I walked along the sidewalk looking to see if any flowers were popping up yet, and noticed this little nest under the burning bush.  I'll have to look a little closer next spring for tiny birds in that bush!