Now what would January be if New Englanders weren't discussing the weather? It really doesn't matter if the weather is nice, cold, windy, snowy, raining, or just plain beautiful, this topic is always at the top of the daily discussion list around here.
For the last several days the weather has fallen into a predictable pattern, seasonable temperatures, lightly falling powdery snow that accumulates between 2-6 inches each day and the quiet stillness of January. This has made for beautiful ski weather for Alpine and Nordic skiers alike, for which we are happy. Season total so far has us right around 75 inches of snow which puts us right on schedule for our 140 inch season average (it usually snows here until mid/late April - and it's not unheard of to still have snow packs melting on the ground in mid-June). My kids are just loving all the snow and seem to disappear around 1 p.m. once their school work is complete and lunch over, I then find myself calling them in around dark
(about 4:45 p.m.) to finish homework and set up for dinner. But everything is coated in white and truly looks lovely.
(about 4:45 p.m.) to finish homework and set up for dinner. But everything is coated in white and truly looks lovely.
Thor, one of our two cats, loves the snow! It's the only time of year he goes out with the kids to play.
He and our other cat, Julius, are really indoor cats, but Thor just can't get enough of the white stuff - strange isn't it?
He and our other cat, Julius, are really indoor cats, but Thor just can't get enough of the white stuff - strange isn't it?
Me, well I'm still in organize mode, and have been organizing and re-organizing closets, drawers, shelves and the like since the New Year. All of this has left my knitting bag, collecting dust in the corner, but I plan to rectify that today with the start of a new sweater - finally one for me :-) Plans for sugaring season (March here in NH) are underway, so we're checking to make sure we have enough taps and buckets, and thinking of the yummy goodness from our trees.
But mostly, the last few days my thoughts have been turning green - garden green that is - Seed orders are due the first week of February and I'm once again planning what we'll be planting this year. What would January be without garden planning? Now, I need to go plant some pots of wheatgrass and cat grass - a little green on my windowsill amidst a land of white - is such a nice thing...
Have a great weekend, we'll as always be enjoying the white stuff on skis.
Beautiful pictures, beautiful snow. I love that picture of Thor. I bet he adores frolicking in the white stuff. Lily, my Persian, would not know what to do with herself out there.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I absolutely cannot let Mike see that you guys make your own syrup. He'll immediately start researching on what equipment to buy and how to find trees to tap around here.
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ReplyDeleteJen, Don't worry, just about $50 (or if you're in New England $15 at a garage sale) for taps and buckets, and then you can make it on the stove, although I don't recommend it, the steam is very sticky and you're house will smell like a candy factory for a week! Outside works best, we use a stainless steel turkey fryer which hooks straight to the propane tank and thus has a very powerful burner. You need 40 gallons of raw maple tree sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, so it's easier if the trees are on your own property, so you can tap several and check the buckets daily (it takes several days to get 40 gallons unless you plan on tapping 40 trees). We have loads of maple trees but only tap the ones close to the house so we don't have to snow-shoe in order to reach our buckets. Last year was our first winter since we bought the property in fall 08 and we only made about 1 gallon of syrup , we're hoping for at least 2 or 3 gallons this year b/c it was gone in a little over 2 months.
ReplyDeleteWow! I'm impressed. Sounds like such work though. I know Mike wouldn't mind it even if he had to do all the work. No, we don't have any maples on our property, so I'm guessing it would be a real pain to track down trees and to tap them if off property. Maybe when we finally settle in this life.
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