I've been derelict in my duties. I said I'd talk about Howell Farm activities and it's been a while.
Tomorrow is the second of the Maple Sugaring days, last Saturday being the first. Back at the beginning of February was the "official" tree tapping day for the maple sugaring season, though I'm sure with as mild a winter as it's been, some of those trees got holes poked in 'em before that. So now begins the official cooking-down of the sap into syrup.
Of course, up in New England maple sugaring is an art form and some farms have elaborate set ups of tubing that feeds the sap right from the trees downhill into the storage tanks and self-stirring vats in the sugar house. But Howell Farm just has a metal pan about 2 feet wide, 4 feet long and maybe 4 or 5 inches high that sets over an outdoor wood fire. The sap is stored in milk cans, which are emptied into a special can with a little plastic tube fit into the side at the bottom that feeds the sap into the pan as needed, and someone tends the fire and stirs and skims the sap. It takes 40 gallons of sugar maple sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, even more for other maples and non-maples, like birches and some other trees. So this is not a quick process. When the sap reaches a certain temperature - 200-something; can't remember exactly - then it's taken out of the outdoor pan and brought into the house to finish on the stove. It's not practical to do the whole cooking-down process in the house because it causes too much steam. Most of the syrup is bottled, though some is also made into maple candy and other maple-y goodies. The children's activity last week was maple brittle and this week it will be maple cookies.
Coming up next week on March 10th is the program now named "Meet the Horse Doctor, Dentist, and Shoer." This used to be two separate programs, one for the vet and dentist and the other for the farrier (the guy who trims and shoes the horses). The horse doctor, or veterinarian, will listen to the horses' hearts and bellies. What? Their bellies!? Yup, it's good for a horse to have some gurgling in its gut. If it's too quiet, that could mean a problem. He may also give vaccinations or give worming medicine to the horses at that time.
The dentist is fun, if a little creepy, to watch. He feels the horse's teeth to see if there are any sharp points that might cut the inside of the horse's cheek and make it hard or painful for him to eat. Yes, he puts his hand into the horse's mouth to do this. And he says he doesn't get bit very often. But don't try this at home, folks. If he finds any sharp points, he gets a big, flat file like one a carpenter might use and files down the points.
The horse shoer will pull off any shoes the horses might already be wearing, then he trims their hooves (like fingernails), and also trims the sole and frog (the frog is the center of the sole that acts like a shock absorber), kinda like trimming the dead skin off of calluses. Then if the horse needs to wear shoes for his work, the shoer will get the right size shoe, hammer the shoe into the correct shape if necessary, then nail the shoe onto the hooves.
Did you know: Horses' front feet are round; their back feet are oval.
"Work Horse Rides and Blacksmithing" will be on March 17th. Some of the horses, the gentlest ones, will get a break from field work that day and will get to carry kids on their backs. They still have to wear their harnesses, but carrying a 50 lb. child around is a lot easier than hauling a plow through the ground. And the kids get to feel what it was like for a farm kid way back when, when a kid might have to ride one of the horses to fetch lunch or a drink of water or a certain tool for Dad while he worked in a field that was far from the house. But, no, they don't get to steer or anything like that. Someone, hopefully an adult (yes, of COURSE it will be an adult. Silly!) will lead each horse up and down one of the farm lanes so each kid gets a 5-minute-or-so ride. The blacksmith will be making various little doo-dads from iron, maybe some S-hooks to hang things on, or spoons or forks, or he might be punching kids' names into little pony shoes for souvenirs.
The corn maze this year will be a barn owl. Don't try this if you're claustrophobic.
Check out howellfarm.org for more info and photos. Unfortunately, I'm on the computer withOUT the pictures in it, or else I'd include some.
Also, while I'm talking farm, I need to mention Greenwoodhill Farm, up in Andover, NY. It's a privately owned park that also takes overnight guests. Like me and DH, Jim and Dana, the owners, are also former Howell Farm volunteers. They have chickens, ducks, goats, sheep, and horses (in fact, they have Barney, a retired Howell Farm horse). And during the summer, they have boarded a neighbor's alpacas, so I expect they'll have them this year too. You can find them at greenwoodhillfarm.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment