Editor's Blog Archive
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When Life Hands You Knotweed, Make Knotweed Crisp
Sure, OK, I love the environment. I want a canopy of green leaves to hike under each spring, blossoming wildflowers, pollinating bees, and bears that have plenty of land to roam. I know my local birds well enough, and I can ID the wildflowers in the woods behind my home. I recycle (usually), and buy locally whenever possible.
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Political Gamesmanship
My inbox has been full, of late, with press releases about the Sportsman’s Heritage Act, a hodge-podge of a bill that recently passed the House of Representatives. Some environmental groups object to its passage on the grounds that it may open up wilderness areas to vehicular traffic; others object because they feel it will roll back the progress that’s… (more)
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Million Dollar Sculpture Discovered in Sugarbush!
When we think of non-timber forest products, we tend to think of wild edibles like fiddleheads, or maybe balsam fir needles for the incense market. We certainly don’t think of a forest growing multi-million dollar fine art pieces. And yet that’s exactly what I found a few weeks back while pulling taps in our sugarbush. There I was, mindlessly… (more)
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In Which Dave Finds Himself in Amherst
So, sugaring season ended very abruptly and I'm letting myself off the hook for petering out on my maple blog by concentrating on the reflective nature of that act. Sugaring ended. I stopped writing. We ended up with 500 gallons and change – about 75% of a normal crop. It's simultaneously disappointing and, considering the weird weather and the… (more)
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Climate Change + Poor Sugaring Season = Bad Journalism
There have been several interesting cases involving media ethics in the news cycle of late. In January, theater artist Mike Daisey’s one-man show highlighting unsavory aspects of Apple’s manufacturing processes in China was broadcast on the public radio show “This American Life.” Problem was that Daisey had made up many of the sensational details in the show, a fact that,… (more)
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Dispatch from the Sugarwoods Day 29
Boiled with friends and family on Saturday; sap flow was minimal. Sap ran well on Sunday, then it froze on Sunday night. Monday it poured at both bushes and we boiled all day – by evening we’d made around 80 gallons. They’re saying highs in the 60s to near 70 all week and no freezing temperatures at night. Is this… (more)
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Dispatch from the Sugarwoods Day 25
Dad was on the road by 6 a.m. to get another load of sap; I fired the rig up just about the time the sun was cresting bald mountain. It was 50 degrees and rising outside; felt and sounded like May. Outside the air resonated with bird song, including two tom turkeys who were chokolokolokoin back and forth.
I changed… (more)
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Dispatch from the Sugarwoods Day 24
It was 30 degrees yesterday when I woke up at six. Thirty two by around 7:30. I was trying to get caught up on some Northern Woodlands work, but the weather was having none of it. Thirty five by 8 – I went up to turn the vacuum pumps on. Everything was frozen up pretty bad after two days of… (more)
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Dispatch from the Sugarwoods Day 22
The sap ran well last weekend, which led to a 17-hour workday on Saturday and a 12-hour day on Sunday. Still making fancy; in fact, we haven’t made a bit of dark amber yet, which for us is unusual. Our older tubing infrastructure and the lack of pitch at the farm bush are usually a recipe for darker syrup. Then… (more)
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Dispatch from the Sugarwoods Day 18
The sap trickled down here Monday, then ran decent on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning we gathered and started processing. It was a cold, blustery day. The sky was heavy with moisture and by noon snow had begun to fall. They called off school and Nate swung by the sugarhouse and boiled with us. We finished for the night around 10… (more)