Welcome to the Letters from the Homestead series where I share stories of our life on the homestead. I hope you can connect to these snippets from our simple life here in Wisconsin.
February 3, 2024
Though the season doesn’t feel like it, we are in winter now. The hogs have been processed and sold, and also fill our own freezer. Our steer, too, has left the farm and is now serving our family as food. Danny processed four of the ducks and all of the meat chickens too. The garden is brown and barren, resting until late spring when it can be planted with food once again. So now all that remains is the 8 cows, the flock of laying hens, and four lucky ducks. It’s a quieter season on the homestead with more time to take walks outside and simply enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.
This winter has been so unusual for us in Wisconsin with temperatures barely reaching below freezing. We only had one week of cold days so far this winter, and barely any snow remains in my area in north central Wisconsin. There is an uneasiness about this strange winter for me, and I can’t help but wonder what it will mean for the spring and summer months ahead. My 86 year old grandfather, who I admire and love, is a source of wisdom- and he has said he has never seen a winter like this one before. A 50 degree Fahrenheit day in February is just not normal!
The early thaw that we’ve experienced these last couple of days has prompted the maple trees to start running their sap up the trunks, which means despite what the calendar says, it’s time to begin maple syrup season. This is over a month earlier than we’ve made maple syrup in the past, and though we don’t know if the season is actually officially starting, we don’t want to miss out on the season because we waited too long. We usually make around 10-12 gallons of maple syrup for our family for the year, and losing out on that would be a big loss for our family.
And so, on February 3rd we tapped the maple trees. In the morning, Danny and the two older children went out to the shed to start the tedious job of hanging the maple syrup bags on the hangers. Normally this is my job, but since the baby needed to be put to nap and there was some housework and baking left to do before we headed to The Hardwood Hill, Danny and the children took on this job. After laying the baby down, I washed some laundry, baked some sourdough cinnamon raisin muffins and a chocolate cake for the Sunday dinner, and gave the house a good cleaning. Meanwhile the three-year-old assisted me where she could, helping with the baking (she loves that!) and cleaning.
After the bags had all been hung, we had a quick lunch, packed up the taps, a hammer, and the bags, and headed up to The Hardwood Hill. The Hardwood Hill is a patch of huge old maple trees that overlook my grandparents’ farm. These trees have provided maple syrup for my maternal side of the family for generations, and I’m proud to be another who continues on that tradition. Everytime I step onto that hill in the early spring air and look down at the farm in which I love so much, I feel a deep connection to all that have lived and worked there and who have walked the same places that I walk now.
The children, eager and excited to be helpful, each took a turn tapping in the metal taps and hanging the bags on the tree after their dad had drilled the holes. The work takes a bit longer with the “help” of little hands, but it is no doubt important to allow willing little ones to be a part of this work, as that helps produce capable older ones in the future. After about 10-15 trees the children asked if they could go play instead, and after being granted that request, they excitedly took off to explore all of the interesting new places that The Hardwood Hill has to offer. The nearly 150 years of farming that has happened on that hill has left treasures to be found, and the toppled over stump of the 137 year old oak tree that now is the floor of our home makes a great place to play.
Knowing that we were tapping trees, my parents, grandpa, and aunt all joined us on top of The Hardwood Hill to see how the trees were running and enjoy the company of one another on the warm sunny hill. My parents and aunt played hide-and-seek with the children amongst the trees, while Danny and I talked to my grandpa about years gone by and making maple syrup. Such treasured memories we are making (hopefully for my children too!).
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