by Don
3/7/2012 4:25:00 PM
The unusually warm weather of 50 degrees on March 6th, began the awakening of the sugar maples in our forest. Our first significant flows were today and we anticipate our first batch of syrup this weekend. The forecast looks favorable with warm days and cool nights.
by Don
3/7/2012 3:23:00 PM
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to meet WCCO TV anchor/reporter Angela Davis and Bob Cowan, the experienced video photographer at our sugarbush. Angela does a series entitled "Finding Minnesota", where she explores the unique aspects of life in our wonderful state.
Angela shared she had reported on backyard maple syruping in past years, but was intrigued by the story behind our maple experience. How do you evolve from 22 taps on a barrel stove to 700 taps with state of the art technologies?! It's obvious she is a talented Emmy award winning reporter, as she explored the transitions at Somerskogen Sugarbush. Bob, who has 42 years of experience at WCCO TV, enjoyed capturing the beauty that is Somerskogen.
We won't give away the story, so see it for yourself on Sunday, March 18th @ 10PM on WCCO TV Channel 4 or Monday, March 19th at 5:50AM.
by Don
12/4/2011 8:47:00 AM
The final batch of maple cream was made today and when it is gone, we'll have to wait for Spring 2012 and hope for a good supply of light amber syrup. If you anticipate running out before April 2012, it would be wise to place your order. The cream will store just fine in the freezer. For those of you who haven't tried this delicious product, it is made from pure light amber maple syrup, heated to around 235 degrees, cooled and the taffy-like consistency comes out of the maple cream machine like frosting or spun honey. Quite simply, there isn't anything else like it and putting it on toast or between ginger cookies is divine!
With only an inch or two of snow on the ground and the lakes not frozen , we are experiencing a very dry season. We are down 5-7" of moisture and this is the first time we have seen cracks in the soil throughout our 17 acres of forest. Here is a link for more weather info for the Twin Cities: http://www.climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/dry_fall_msp_2011.htm What effect this will have on spring sap flow remains to be seen.
With the holiday season in full swing, consider making your gift giving easy and have us ship some maple syrup or maple cream to friends and family.