Maple Tapping Time

I have spotted some warmer weather for a couple of days Sunday and Monday. It is time to tap some trees. This is the latest we have ever held off to tap trees. It has simply been to cold to justify plowing through waist deep snow to tap some trees. The trees will not run until the temps go at least above freezing. The optimal temp for trees to run is about 40 degrees in the afternoon and freezing at night. I expect to see the trees run a little bit Sunday and Monday and then shut back down when the high temps are only in the 20's. If you have never tapped a tree and have a few maples in your yard it is fun to do and requires not a lot of equipment Our bag of tappers has grown over the years. We used to have just 5. That is what happens with maple syrup tapping it grows and grows.... More pictures to come. We are spending Saturday afternoon on snow shoes plowing through to the maples by Eagles Nest and across the road. In the meantime while waiting for the temps to warm up, I have told myself to try a fingerless glove on my sock maker. I have looked at more patterns than I care to think about, ordered a 30 min video on my computer showing how to make a full mitten, and put off experimenting til now. The thumb is what had me puzzled. How to make a thumb on a round sock machine.... Puzzling, reading, cranking and saying a few choice words I figured out my first one Not bad for my first attempt. I have a few modifications to make til I get it just right. The thumb came out the way I wanted it. Give me a week and there will be fingerless gloves and maybe some full mittens too flying off the machine. Stay tuned