Sugaring Season at Fox Hill Farm

Looking out the window today it's hard to imagine that last weekend was so nice.... today it is snowing and blowing as though it's late fall instead of early spring. Last Sunday we were still making some syrup with the last of the sap and it was a bright and sunny day with mild temperatures. The sap started running late this year due to the fact that winter kept hanging on and on and on. When the sap finally started running, it flowed pretty well over a two week period.

When we were boiling sap down, we did have a few breaks in the weather with beautiful blue skies and friendlier temperatures, and that made it much nicer. We've decided we need to have a building for the syrup-making next year, and a nice evaporator and bottler, too. The process this year was a lot of work, but enjoyable. With a little of the syrup we made some candies; and even though the first batch of candy turned out more like sugar and the second turned out more like taffy, it was still tasty.

Through Dan's photos he gives you a "taste" of making maple syrup here at the farm, from tapping the trees, to boiling the sap to some of the finished products. Enjoy your virtual maple sugaring tour!
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Announcing... new books!

We're very pleased to announce that Dan's newest books have been recently released. They are two poster books published by Voyageur Press. The first one is "The World's Greatest Colts and Fillies Poster Book" and it features 43 photos of foals of various breeds, including Rocky Mountain Horses, Gypsy Vanners, Dales Ponies, Welsh, Norwegian Fjords, etc... The cover photo is the Welsh Mountain Pony colt, Miracle Smoke Signal, at about 3 weeks of age.

The other book is "The World's Greatest Baby Farm Animal Poster Book" and it features piglets, calves, lambs, kids, puppies, bunnies, kittens, etc...it's a really adorable book. Both of these titles are great for young children.

Check out your local bookstore for these fun new titles, or shop online; both books are available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, etc...