Today the thermometer read 70 degrees. That’s not sugaring weather—that’s beach weather. Don’t get me wrong, I love to feel the warm sun on my face as much as the next New Englander after a cold winter, but this is just too much too soon.

It’s been a pretty bad year for making maple syrup here in Massachusetts. Well, in fact, it’s been a really bad year. We’ve barely made a third of what we usually produce and Joe’s thinking the season is going to close early given the summertime temps.

Our new vacuum pump has definitely saved the day, though. Joe set it up in a flurry of activity just two short weeks ago down at Moose Brook. That’s the coldest spot of all, since it’s low, shaded, and near the cool water. So the sap starts running late in the season but usually goes the longest. With the vacuum pump it’s really increased sap production. Good thing, too, since everyplace else has stopped running!

The good news is that we made the highly sought after maple cream and maple candy. We had some folks stop by during the first open house with the list of Easter baskets to fill with the maple treats and I felt bad that we hadn’t made any yet. Now we have some! No matter how much we make, we always sell out of those items, so come to the open house Sunday and pick yours up before they disappear.

The forecast this Sunday looks lovely. There’s no mud on the farm—with all this warm weather it’s dried up the soil. And Joe and I just got back from visiting Moose Brook and we have a full sap tank of 400 gallons. That means we WILL be boiling tomorrow. Yeah!

Come enjoy the great weather, eat lots of maple candy to get a sugar high, and see the evaporator in action.