I picked up a load of “new to me” wooden shelving today. I’ll be using it in my 14×28′ storage barn. When I get it set up, I’ll then be able to take lots of non maple related items out of the sugarhouse and store them in the shed along with some back up stock such as jugs, bottles barrels and shipping supplies that simply take up too much space in my 16×24 sugarhouse. That will make it a lot easier to keep the sugarhouse far better organized.
With the next maple season racing closer each day, this may not get totally finished until after the season, but every thing I can move from the sugarhouse will help in a big way. My storage space has been very tight for over 10 years, this will help.
A week from tonight and Saturday I’ll be going to the biggest maple show in the northeast, and lady luck smiles on me for this one, it is only 15 minutes drive from my home. At this show over 800 maple producers attend, from 8 or 10 states, plus several from Ontario and Quebec. There are vendors from all over the maple world there for all sorts of new shinny SS maple equipment and new tools to do everything we do to produce maple syrup.
There is a couple of talks on Friday nite plus an equipment auction, then on Saturday, there are 4 major presentation time slots where we have a choice from several different topics in each time slot. We read a program to see what is being offered, then we choose which ones are best for our maple operation. Saturday will be a fun, and full day, from 8:00 AM until 4:00 pm.
This will be my 14th in the past 14 years and at everyone I learn something new, learn new methods and get to share ideas with fellow maple producers. Each year I get to visit with 25-40 other producers I’ve gotten to know in the years I’ve been making maple syrup and along the way, I meet a few new friends too.