Running

The tree that has consistently produced the most sap for us sprouted leaf buds yesterday.  (They look like little red bumps on the branches near the crown of the tree.) Once the leaf buds come out, the sap starts to taste funky, so I had to remove the jugs from it this morning so that the taste of our syrup wouldn't be affected. 

It got very warm today- 55 degrees Fahrenheit! Since it was so cold last night and so warm today, the sap was running faster than any other day before, so much so that several jugs ran over today before I had a chance to check them! (We were a few minutes late to First Friday Adoration because of a sap overflow emergency spotted on our way down the drive.) 

On the way home we ran some errands. One of the things we did was to get some casters to put on the bottom of our chicken coop. I'm hoping to wheel it around the yard this summer to help with insect control, and to keep the chooks from decimating the grass.

We also made a detour past a retreat center so as to walk and pray the Stations of the Cross. On our way there we spied a flock of 18 turkey hens. 

It was sunny and I made the walk up the hill in my shirtsleeves. It was exhilarating and beautiful.

As you can see, most of the snow and ice has melted today. The ground is a muddy, soupy mess because the top few inches are saturated and below that the ground is still frozen. Even the ice on our pond was thin near the edges by this afternoon. I imagine that was our last snow of the season. I hope to sugar off tomorrow and assemble the chicken coop with the kids while my husband crams in work before his next trip. He's arriving home tonight at about midnight.