February 28, 2021

I bought a few bag holders to collect sap.  The gallon jugs are sometimes too small, but these bags hold 4 gallons.  We put one on our backyard tree.
 

February 27, 2021

The trees are starting to have more sap flowing.  These buckets were about 2/3 full.
 

February 26, 2021

We got a little more sap today.   

February 25, 2021

We gathered some sap today.  We got the white drink cooler full (I think it's 5 gallons) and the blue cooler a quarter full.  The sap is nice and clear.  I'm a little surprised there are bugs already- it's still quite cold!  I guess they like the sweet sap too.
 

February 24, 2021

We checked the sap buckets.  There isn't much yet, but they're starting to drip. 
 

February 23, 2021

We've got a path in the snow now going back to the woods.
 

February 22, 2021

My husband has a collection of 'Choose your own Adventure' books.
 

February 21, 2021

We're supposed to start getting back above freezing this week so we tapped some maple trees.  We have 16 taps.  Most of the trees we tapped were too small for sap the first year we made syrup so it's interesting to know how much they've grown.  Some years we have sap running as soon as we drill the hole in the tree.  I didn't see any yet, but I think everything is still frozen as we haven't had a day above freezing for quite a while.  The forecast says the days will be in the upper 30s starting tomorrow.
 

February 20, 2021

 

February 19, 2021

We're still making those plastic rings.
 

February 18, 2021

I bought some metal strips for masks.  This shape seems like it will be more comfortable than a wire.  However, they are rather thin so I don't know if they're durable.  I'm going to have to wash one inside a mask and see if it makes it.
 

February 17, 2021

I got a small bird feeder and set it in front of the window.  The cats have been watching the birds quite intently.  I can't decide though if it's an enjoyable gift to them, or cruel (due to the chunk of glass keeping them from the tasty morsels).
 

February 16, 2021

We did not get the 8 inches predicted.  We did some snow removal at mom's anyway and fixed her mailbox after it got knocked off the post... again.
 

February 15, 2021

We put wood in for my mom.  It goes quick with all three loading/ unloading.
 

February 14, 2021

We've been watching the weather report.  It claims we're going to get 8 inches of snow Monday, so my husband pushed the snow back from the driveway. 
 

February 13, 2021

I've been using Tide free for years due to allergic reactions to something in other detergents.  One day I was at the store and the bottle had an orange cap instead of blue.  It said 'free & sensitive', no dyes or perfumes, so I just figured they changed the package.  It wasn't until one of my kids got a bad batch of hives that I looked closer.  They have different ingredients, and the blue one says 'hypoallergenic' and the orange one does not.  I checked the internet and found out the orange one is a cheaper version of the blue cap.  So much for it being 'sensitive'.  Hopefully they don't discontinue the blue cap version.
 

February 12, 2021

Cleaning off some snow.
 

February 11, 2021

Today we got the smaller version of the FedEx delivery trucks.  Our cat does not find this one as offensive as the larger one.
 

February 10, 2021

We replaced our carbon monoxide and fire detectors.
 

February 9, 2021

We've been coming regularly to this hospital for check-ups for nearly twenty years.  It is amazing how much it has built up since then, including most of what is in this picture. 
 

February 8, 2021

The battery on this may or may not be dead.  I had to get a jump recently, but then it worked fine until today.
 

February 7, 2021

 

February 6, 2021

They played a game called Crime Fighters in our basement.
 

February 5, 2021

The inside of my new washer is very shiny.
 

Februrary 4, 2021

The snow was very glittery this morning.
 

February 3, 2021

 

February 2, 2021

 

February 1, 2021

We were supposed to get 3 inches of snow.  It doesn't look like we got that much, but we got enough for a 5 AM phone call from school saying my daughter has a snow day.