What a wonderful man you are, DJ...

The world lost a good man today - my friend, Doug "DJ" Jackson, from Cedar Rapids, IA. Sad indeed. Enjoyed working with DJ on stage; enjoyed his voice (and what a voice he had) & humor; enjoyed his aura & company. All good. I first met DJ during "Follies '94". The last show we did together was A CHORUS LINE. Quintessential performer & God-fearing man. I knew DJ had been sick but his passing came outta left field. I miss you & love you, my friend.

Here's DJ & I back in 1996 during A CHORUS LINE cast party. "Gimme the ball, gimme the ball, gimme the ball, yeah!"  Peace, brother. And to your family - my deepest sympathies.

Doug - singing his "signature" song...

 

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"Sugarin' 2014"! Burnin' Sap!

 

These pictures cover two weekends - setting up the evaporator and burning maple sap. It was an odd year - harsh winter, late start to sugaring, not as many trees tapped. We ended up with only two gallons of syrup (compared to 20 gallons last year) but "the syrup" is really second to "the journey".



 

Click on READ MORE! for more pictures of Brother Jason and I doing what we do this time of year.

 

 

Brother Jas and his "still".

 

 

Lumberjack Jeff.

 

Brother Jas and Bruce - owner of this wondrous property which allows us to harvest what God has graciously placed on this earth.

 

Sap flowing.

 

Brother Jas and I target shooting.

 

When that dial hits 7, we draw syrup from the sap burning in the evaporator.

This is what happens when you grab something you didn't know was very hot.

Brother Jas with Molly & Zol.

 

Old timer's trick - bacon grease keeps the syrup from foaming over.

 

Bluebird of happiness gracing our syrup operation.

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"Sugarin' 2014"! Tappin' maples!

Spent the long weekend tapping trees, sorting through equipment (what we have & what we can't find), putting up additional lines, chopping wood....the set-up before burning sap into syrup is labor intensive. As we got a later start than usual this year, we were glad to see the sap is still running. My guess is our take won't match 800 gallons like last year, but as we tell our father - it's all about the journey. Back we go next weekend to burn that sap into syrup!

 

Brother Jas checking lines.

 

Zol.

 

View from the cabin.

 

Me - with tubing. I know - the beard. Never had it that long. It's for a Shakespeare play I'm doing in Milwaukee this June.

Molly.

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"Sugarin' 2014"! Laying lines!

Laying out the tubing to collect maple sap is a bitch. It does make our job easier once we start collecting maple sap and burning it. It's this - or going up to each tree and grabbing a bag or bucket and hauling that all the way back to our burner. I'll take the lines.

The snow came half-way up our calves and was crusty on top, making the trek up the hills slow going. About 3,000 feet of tubing later, we're finished! Next trip:  tappin' maples!

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Brother Jas by the fire.

 

Me & my coffee.

 

Zol #1 shot.

 

Zol #2 shot.

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