Whew! What happens between March & July...

In my quest to S L O W L I F E D O W N, I am asking what the heck happens between March and July?! That may be the absolute fastest group of months here on the farm. Writing during that spell is like trying to carry water in cupped hands--futile. To freeze frame, March through early-to-mid April is the most intense part of the syrup production season. The sap is flowing, the sap house is running nonstop, and we are working hard to carefully capture every batch of syrup into settling jars. Then comes flavor profiling, which involves limited bottling and discerning the notes presented in each batch; this gets us into May. The most mineral-intense batches will still be settling, and then the asparagus beds are really rumbling, readying to explode with spears. As we set down our tasting spoons, we head directly into the asparagus beds where we handpick from sun up til sun down until June 30th, when the beds are released to do all their ferny-frondy replenishing and restoration. And then we're on to picking currants for our delicious Mélange à Trois shrub and focussing on syrup bottling. July is for syrup finishing, picking red and black currants, and preparing to cut fallen trees in the forest. (There may also be some swimming in the creek and dreaming up plans in the hubris of summer.)

This year we are preparing over 20 batches for you, with the entire collection launching on August 1st! (We will note the volume of each batch so you won't be surprised as smaller batches sell out.) The total production this year was just north of 300 gallons. While this may sound like a lot, that is about a day's production for even small commercial operations using commodity production methods. We won't be doing that, because we are laser focussed on bringing you exactly what the trees create, and that takes time and meticulous processing. This is also why we are launching on August 1st. We still have four of the most mineral-rich batches to profile, and plenty of bottling. Every batch is special and unique, so rather

than rolling the syrup out piecemeal as we finish, we want to be able to present the entire collection to you at once. This highlights the magic of the year's unfolding, and also gives you the opportunity to pick precisely the batch you've been jonesing for. So stay tuned...just a little bit longer! In the meantime, explore our ah-mazing honey created from the bees right here in this corner of paradise, our delicious fruit pastes on a bit of something tasty, and our refreshing shrub mixers!

In other exciting news, we are planning to attend the Fall Festival in Sharon Springs, NY this year! We haven't been to this festival since 2019, and we are looking forward to being back with the vibrant assemblage of humanity tucked in the hills of Upstate New York. The dates are September 20-21st, and it is certain to be a great weekend. We are spreading out this year to give you additional room for tasting honey, jams, shrubs, asparagus, scapes and, of course, all of the magical Whole Maple™ flavors of 2025.

Stay tuned! In the meantime, let freedom ring in your corner of world~we're in all this together.

Til next time, Farm Fam!

Our own Sour Cherry Shrub! All the good stuff~