Sappy Squirrels and Hungry 'Coons

Since the sap was running so well Saturday night, I didn't empty the sap jugs (which would have required me heading outside at about 3:30 in the morning after having gone to bed at nearly 2 am.) My rationale at the time was that I was just going to bring the sap in to refrigerate or freeze it anyway, so I might as well let it freeze outside. 

Sunday the predicted storm hit. We got freezing rain, ice pellets, and then a topping of snow, followed by 20 mile an hour winds. So I didn't head out to get sap that day. Branches were falling along with all that precipitation, and the sap was frozen in the jugs anyway. 

On Monday, local schools were closed. The sun slipped through the trees in the woods and set everything a-sparkle. Sledding was perfect! It was still too cold for the sap to rise.

On Tuesday, schools operated on a two hour delay. The temperature was supposed to reach 33 or 34 degrees fahrenheit. There was a good chance the sap would run again, so I hauled all the frozen jugs into the house so as to thaw the frozen sap enough to pour off. I didn't want them to get over-full and spill. I had jugs soaking in hot water baths in the sink and in the electric roaster. It was a pain, and my fridge was beginning to fill up with sap pans. 

Today it was sunny and 34 degrees. The sap was running pretty well by midday. The wounds the trees sustained from having limbs sheared off in the storm were oozing sap too. A pair of squirrels gorged themselves on the sweet liquid all day. 

The driveway was finally getting a bit slushy on our way back from the noon Ash Wednesday Mass. I left the garage door open after we pulled in so that all the snow and slush melting off of our vehicle might evaporate a little bit. It was a bad decision. I figured that it was the middle of the day. There were no leaves to blow in. It was still cold enough that stray dogs shouldn't be a problem. But a small, cheeky raccoon was up and about and decided to rummage through the garage in search of food. This snowy winter is taking its toll on the local fauna. 

When we discovered it later, it startled us as much as we startled it. And it holed up in the back corner under the workbench and wouldn't budge, even with some serious nudges and pushes from a broom handle, etc. So we left it in peace for a long time hoping she would leave.

This evening, when heading out to tend the goats,  my son found that she was still there. I didn't want to scare her into being aggressive. Raccoons can carry rabies, after all. I also didn't want to close her in the garage. And I really didn't want to leave the door open and end up with a raccoon party. So, I resorted to food. I left a trail of bread crumbs, Hansel-and-Gretel-style from where she was to the garage door. I turned off all the lights and took the kids to the other side of the house, so as to not disturb her with noise. Luckily, at dusk, she ate every hunk of bread and made her way back outside again. But unfortunately, she was rewarded for her daring. 

My husband has been gone for seven nights now. He's wheeling and dealing, enjoying west coast weather, a big bed in a quiet hotel room, fancy dinners (or at least meals prepared for him, during which he can actually eat, no one spills a whole gallon of lemonade,  smears food in their hair, or complains that edible food has never once been served.) I, on the other hand, am counting deer, sighting bobcats, clearing our long lane of limbs, lugging sap, and outwitting 'coons- all with a kid strapped to my back and a small army of "helpers" in tow. Who was it who wanted to move here again?! Did I mention that I was up six times last night with the squawker? Or that I have a nasty cold? 

It doesn't matter though. I'm not missing a moment with my kids. This is the stuff that memories are made of. Hopefully the children will look back and remember all this adventure with fondness. I know I probably will… if I'm not dead… or too tired to remember. :)