The Bovine Bugle

Sap buckets ready for next year's sugaring season

Today we tackled the least desirable task of the sugaring season, now that it’s over. We washed the 422 sap buckets that we had put out one month ago. While Karen, Ben, Justin, and Noah picked up the buckets in the woods, I set up the bucket washer and rinsing tubs and ran the garden hose from the milkhouse to the sugarhouse to fill the washer and tubs. We started washing a little after 11 a.m.. with me washing, Karen rinsing, and Justin and Noah stacking the washed buckets on the hay wagon. Ben was picking up the last buckets by himself. We stopped for lunch around 1 p.m. with half of the buckets done. After lunch, we changed the wash and rinse waters and started again. To make the day even more enjoyable it started to rain, but we kept at it. We finished around 3:30, a little damp but happy to have the job done. It makes it even more satisfying working with your family to accomplish something.

While Ben helped my parents finish the afternoon chores, I did a few odd jobs around the barn and bedded the pole barn to make the heifers and steers a little more comfortable in the damp weather.

--Jonathan, Howmars Farm
Franklin, Vermont