Weekly Mileage #95 and the Start of Sap Season

snowball!

We had a snow day on Monday, so we went sledding at a local park, but it wasn't great snow. It was melting into a slushy mess, so while we did some sledding, we weren't able to do the snowshoeing I'd hoped for.

the boys sledding down the hill

Ocean had more speech therapy appointments (he's going twice a week right now) and they're going well. We can hear a difference already, but a lot of that is because he can actually hear sounds clearly now. Because he can hear clearly, he can hear what the speech therapist is saying and is getting better at mimicking correct sounds. He's already losing the cute mispronunciations he's been using for so long. It's a good thing, but it's also a little sad. He's getting so big.

Sunshine and her tiny snowman

The sap is running. I tweaked the lines Tuesday after the sap started flowing. I had a long stretch that was unsupported, and once the sap started running it was just too heavy and it hung too low for the gravity vacuum to work. I knew this was a possibility, but I wanted to give it a try anyway. Getting rid of the unsupported section just means we have two collection points instead of one, so it's not that big a deal.

the bubbles indicate sap in the lines!

As of Sunday morning we've collected about 11 gallons of sap so far. I tried to boil the sap on Saturday, but all the wood was wet and covered in snow and it started raining. A sugar shack would really come in handy at times like this. I'll try again this afternoon.

first time I've been able to pack snow around a bucket of sap to help it stay cold- I don't need to put it in the freezer just yet

We got about an inch or so of snow Thursday evening, on top of what we got last weekend, which had started melting, but was still on the ground. The temps have been rising and Saturday's rain took care of more of the snow. Such a muddy mess. Our yard is just a mud pit now from all the rain we got last year plus the snow we've gotten this winter. We'll have to do some intensive re-seeding if it ever stops raining.

bucket full of sap, partially frozen

Friday night I realized that I've been more clear headed this week and more productive with my time. I've spent less time feeling fuzzy and unable to concentrate. I'm thinking this is due to the new supplement I started last Saturday. I upped the dose a smidge (you have to gradually increase till you reach the full dose) this Saturday, and I'm curious to see if I see any other improvements. It can take up to 6 months to see the full benefits, so I'm excited to be seeing results after less than a week.

foggy, snowy morning on Friday

Weekly Mileage
Tuesday- 1.00 miles walked
Thursday- 10.0 miles biked
total- 11.1 miles

3 hikes towards #52hikechallenge
0 kayak miles towards #365milechallenge

8.40 foot miles towards #365milechallenge
20.0 bike miles towards #365milechallenge
28.40 miles total