Fridges and Farms

I mentioned in a date night post that we were looking for a new fridge.  We actually ended up buying it just before leaving for DC.  It sat in our garage for a week and half and we finally got it in today.  Here is our old fridge with the cabinet doors removed.

My dad came over to help take the cabinet down.  He is going to try to salvage the taller part and maybe do something with the rest too.

We have some other sheetrock work to do in our breezeway, so we plan to repair and paint the wall at that time.  It is nice to have such a big fridge, we gained at least 50% more space plus the shelves are more customizable than the old one.

Once we finished putting everything back together we took a walk because it was a nice sunny day.  We stopped by "Fairview Farms," which is really just our friends, Michelle and Enoch's, house.  They have been boiling sap the last several years and we wanted to check out the operation!

Parker had fun playing with their dog, Ruby.

They have a pretty neat set-up.  The barrel contains the wood and the square pan is where the sap boils.  The smaller pot on top also contains sap.  It is getting warm before adding it to the large pan because you don't want to slow the boil when pouring it in.  The yield can vary, but it takes about 40 gallons of sap to produce 1 gallon of syrup and an average tree will produce about 10 gallons of sap a year.  You know it is ready when it reaches a certain temperature.  Enoch uses a hydrometer to check his syrup, but you can also use a thermometer.

Enoch adding wood

Enoch, Jimmy and Parker

Parker wasn't too interested in the boiling, but did almost get his hand in a bucket of sap!  He loved just being outside and trying out his new boots (they match the hat!)

Today was the first of a long stretch of gorgeous weather, it may even hit 70 on Wednesday!  We are very excited for some outside time.  Hope you are having a great weekend too.