I spoke about cutting firewood for our fuel here on the farm 2 weeks ago but I thought I might show some pictures to give you an idea about the process.  Below is our wood shed.  Each row of wood makes about 150 gallons of syrup.  Each row is about 6 feet high by 8 feet wide by 2.5 feet deep.  There is also an outside row going perpendicular to the main rows which we use as well.

Above is a shot from this year's wood yard or area we are thinning.  We take trees that are diseased or wounded or just too thick in numbers in that area.  It is rather like gardening on a large scale.  We use the large chunks from the main trunk to stoke our wood furnace which provides heat and hot water to the house and retail store.  The branch wood and upper trunk wood is cut in longer lengths (30 inches) for the wood evaporator.    You can see our blue mainline for sap collection in the background.

Above is a shot of our log splitter which we use mostly for "sugar wood" rather than furnace wood.  It is conical screw which turns and attaches to (or engages) the piece of wood after it is lifted on to a stationary bar by the screw.  As the screw turns it draws the wood up the cone forcing it apart while lodging it against the stationary bar.  It is a turning screw that requires caution in using  for safety but it allows us to split any length wood (including long split rail fence rails) unlike a hydraulic splitting ram which is a more typical wood splitter. 

I could go on but am always concerned that I have told folks more than they ever wanted to know about the subject.  Thanks for listening.

I want to put in a shout and plug for the New York State Maple Tour this July 22-24,2012. 

Every year the New York State Maple Producers sponsor a tour of sugar houses in a different area of the state.  This year the tour is in the central part of the state centered around Auburn, New York.  We will tour 6 different maple operations as well as have a scenic boat tour of Skaneateles lake and visit a water powered flour mill.  The tour covers two days (Monday and Tuesday) with a banquet on Monday night.  We will be one of the six maple operations on the tour.

No doubt this is not for everybody but it might just interest some who are not commercial maple producers but might want to know a bit more about maple or those who like to figure out how things work.  Novices and gawders will be welcomed as well as other commercial sugarmakers.  The tour starts in Auburn each morning and goes by modern motor coach to each destination through the day.  The scenery will be spectacular and the area around Skaneateles lake and Auburn, New York offers a ton of other entertainment.  While the the total tour cost including the banquet and lunch each day is big bite at $170.00 beginners can just do one day and skip the banquet for as little as $70.00 for meals and entertainment for a whole day.  If you were planning a vacation in the area or wanted to know a little more about maple you should consider this tour. 

Some information is available at www.cornellmaple.com.  Click on 2012 New York State Maple Tour.  There will be more detailed descriptions of the stops for each day in a few weeks.  If I can help explain anything for those interested just email me from this website under contact us.  Thanks for listening.