The old-school tulips that I planted along the driveway are spreading nicely
Category: Homesteading
Flailing
Today, we flailed most of the field. I walked around and identified the little trees we want to keep – dogwoods, cherries, apples, and of course black walnuts!
Cozy Cat Bed
We’ve got all sorts of actually cozy cat beds for our farm cats – but Ash was absolutely enamored with this pile of pine bark and cottonwood leaves. A great place to take a nap on a warm, sunny day!
Farm Cat On Guard
Our little cat surveying his territory
Maple Syrup – Second Boil
We had another week of overnight freezes that extended the maple season – got about 40 gallons of maple sap and 10 gallons of walnut sap. We boiled it all in a single day, and finished it this morning. We added another 3/4 of a gallon of maple syrup and a little over a pint of walnut syrup. Half of the buckets have been collected. We’ve got more buckets, taps, and ratchet straps to collect … but maple season is over for 2025.
Farmhouse Cleanup
A lot of work to do, but we’re making progress cleaning up the farmhouse.
Strawberries
I got the strawberry plants going in the greenhouse — we’ve got a few more weeks with overnight freezes, but hopefully they will be cozy in here.
Maple Syrup and Black Walnut Syrup – First Batch
We finished boiling the sap today — three gallons of maple syrup and about half a gallon of black walnut syrup.
Still collecting sap
Boiling
We’ve got 38 maple trees (48 taps) and 10 black walnut trees (12 taps) – the first collection was 38 gallons of maple sap and 16 gallons of black walnut sap.