[mitchmaine]

hey john, the northeastern corner of north america seems to be the whole world of maple syrup. maples grow everywhere. peculiar. there must be other places maples exist along with freezing temperatures, but never heard of it. the sap in the trees freezes at night from the outside in. the sap in the center makes carbon dioxide that it can’t displace creating a positive pressure in the tree waiting to equalize itself when the tap hole thaws. the climate seems to be heading north faster than the trees can keep up. who knows? someday newfoundland might be the syrup capital of maple syrup?? after a week of dry taps it froze yesterday and is still tight. rain predicted tomorrow so maybe one more run. the buds are still tight enough. it can freeze after the tree buds out, but you won’t want to eat that syrup. best wishes, mitch

[mitchmaine]

bivol, i don’t think anyone in the gov’t (i.e. insurance companies) cares if you kill yourself, they just don’t want to have to care for you (spend money) if you live through the event. we have to get rid of insurance companies. if you think this is a free country, try riding on the roof of the bus with your chicken.

[mitchmaine]

carl, i felt the same way when i found this site. instant debate on any subject. and even though after the dust settles, and two or three stubborn teamsters are still allowed to think what they want, it makes me, anyway, rethink what i do think, and try and speak clearly and try and make the point when i choose to join in. thank you all, for the great ideas and courage to say so. mitch

[mitchmaine]

if this points been made already here, bear with me, but if you can get a horses foot off the ground and in your lap for five minutes, trimming, cleaning, whatever. then that horse trusts you pretty well. your in his head now. why would you want to give that over to a stranger?

[mitchmaine]

to someone that doesn’t know how to drive horses, it can be a very big challenge to get into it. but most folks here on this site seem in or beyond that process. shoeing is no different. a big challenge. so pick up and clean out your horses feet. once you get that down, start trimming. learn how it’s done and go slow. once that becomes easier and you have a little confidence, throwing a shoe on is just the next step. when someone wants to know how to do something bad enough, try and stop them from learning. don’t get me wrong, i’m not trying to say trimming and shoeing are any easier than driving or working horses, what i’m saying is you can do either or both well if you find out what you need to know and aquire some experience to be able to apply the knowledge. cause it sure is expensive.

[mitchmaine]

good idea carl, a crew working together putting out wood, each cutting separately scaling and making their own wage by what they pile up (or how hard they work). sounds fair. some kind of community thing there, too that might be helpful. LIF up in unity is doing something along that line, all the wood goes in the same pile, and it seems to be working well. there is something about the crew working together that increases output. two men cut more than twice what one can. some math thing like that. we should explore this one a little more. mitch

[mitchmaine]

hey rick, are you paying stumpage on the logs? if you are, and it runs about $100. you and your yarder are then working for $125. if you pay him more than half, then you are working for him. if he trucks it as well as yards it, then you are working for him still. a deal is only a good one when each guy thinks he’s skinning the other. i’d pay $40. would you yard my logs for $40.?

[mitchmaine]

Draftdriver, it can be quite exciting when you witness (and survive) the explosive strength of one or two big horses trying to get to somewhere safe. The lemonade is knowing what can happen, always have an exit handy, and build some bond between you and them so when they hear your voice you might get a second more time to change the outcome. Humor me for a minute while I tell you a story about this pair of mares I had once. There is a point to this. After a year or so, I wanted to shoot both of them, cause they would go so hard all the time. We were sugaring with them and fell through the frost into a deep hole. They fell in and jumped ahead, throwing me over the front into the hole in front of the wheel. I was wedged into the frost edge and the horses were about to jump, and it would have ripped me in two. I had the lines with two feet of slack so no good there. And I also had the nearhorses tail in my left hand. Nothing. That was it. I said (screamed) whoa. And they stopped and backed up. I felt their energy about to unload and they just stopped for me. I kept them for a long time. Somehow I think you have to get them to link your voice to something safe or good. I touch them and talk to them all the time. Pick their feet, rub there ears, feel in their mouths. Be in their ears and eyes all the time you can, so if something happens unexpected they wait one more second for your voice. Sounds easy on paper, doesn’t it?

[mitchmaine]

hey there, sounds like you are doing fine. they are your team so any command (word) you choose to use to get them to stand in is fine if you consistant use it. they’ll get the message and do what you wish. someday they’ll do it the minute you think it. i’ll bet on it. if you have a disc and some fresh plowed ground that is a great way to tune up a well rested pair of horses. (sounds like they come with some training). they have to work at harrowing, there is some resisitance required, and usually takes their minds off fooling around. they also can’t get away from you as easily. but they sound like a good pair of horses to me already. good luck, mitch

[mitchmaine]

carl, we didn’t get your snow but 7″ rain instead. at the time i was wishing for the snow but we’ve been running on bare ground for the sap season, and it made a poor season a little better. last summer when i put our hay up in september after waiting for the end of 29″ rainfall, it looked dingy, oh, did it look poor. now, it don’t look half so bad, and everyone wants some. might be the same way with this syrup. dark, strong, not much of it. our buds seem pretty tight yet, but it’s 68 in the shade and its 3pm. go figure. mitch

[mitchmaine]

nice rig, jon. looks well built. wondering if the wheels could exist as a frame and could support other tools as well. harrows and cultivators, say. interchangeable parts. they would have to be easily changeable and that might be a trick. but i really like your rig. doesn’t look like it should offer much resisitance. oh, by the way, beautiful countryside!!!

[mitchmaine]

hey jim, the old timers used to say a workhorse was worth a hundred dollars a roll. i got a couple three hundred dollar horses myself. hope all is well, mitch

[mitchmaine]

geoff, we plant oats first year for horses. they grow easy, don’t mind weeds. everything goes through combine and straw/weeds are seed free for bedding. then, spelt over winter for next season crop or a cover for the winter. have tried and do fall plow but can’t get a cover up on in time to help erosion, but fall plowing is great for breaking up sod, so six of one…
john, don’t know how much rain you get, but i think you can get cover on with just your disc. seems to me sometime you will have to deal with your sod? weeds are tough, especially when you feed ’em. send lots of photos and text.
an aside. coming to england shortly to visit wife’s family. devon/cornwall. any horse farmers that way? computer is not helping me with this. any help would be appreciated. mitch

[mitchmaine]

erika, it’s the air temp only. i took a bar up to the top of the knoll and down 8″ there is frost still. sounds a little hollow but still good and solid. good for another week or ten days i’ll bet. we’re getting 1.7 sap too. pretty weak. tough year. i’m with ya on climate change. mitch

[mitchmaine]

hi ed, slow here(midcoast maine), too. we did have a gallon per tap last saturday, but dry since. calendar says it’s still early, but the woods says it’s getting late. we’ve made about a third of a crop yet. good luck there. mitch

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