Dear Curiosity Journal,
It’s another syrupy Saturday on the farm. Rufus fires the boiler in the woods and I complete the canning process in the kitchen. Rufus is torn between pulling taps and capturing more sap. It’s a tough call to turn off the sugar faucet when it’s pouring into the tank, but also, we need to move on to full time gardening. He didn’t have the heart to shut it down this weekend, but it won’t be much longer. In the farmhouse, a saccharine steam candy coats surfaces in a sticky gloss. Each time Rufus returns, he enthusiastically counts the quarts, calculates the quantity into gallons, and announces the tally. I’m several steps past sleepy when I can the 40th quart around 11:30 PM, but can’t help but feel a kindred satisfaction from counting the gleaming cache one last time.
~Joy
