Mud Season

I guess it’s official; it’s mud season. It’s raining now with another flood warning. In fact, rain is in the forecast for the foreseeable future. There’s enough ice and snow melted to make way for mud. The woods roads are all closed to keep from getting deeply rutted. This is what passes for spring here.

On the bright side, with any luck, the ice on the lake will break up. I’m looking forward to throwing the sailboat back in the water. It needs a clean up and a few minor repairs, but that shouldn’t take long. My lovely wife wants to make new cushion covers but that doesn’t have to be done before launching the boat.

A friend of mine is wrapping up the last of maple sugaring season. He’s got one more boil before calling it quits for the season. It was a rough one for him. He had to cut sap lines out of the ice using a chainsaw. In the end it appears the season will be just a little under the average. That comes as some relief. He never knows if he’s going to make or lose money from year to year. Good thing he loves it.

Our garden area is in the one sunny spot on our land. Most of my land is shaded by trees. The snow melted down enough for my lovely wife to poke around in the garden. She discovered some sunchokes that over wintered in good shape. Nice to have one more thing to throw in the pot. I don’t much care for them plain, but enjoy them mixed with mashed potatoes or added to a soup.

So it looks like we’ll finally get to say goodbye to winter. It’s been a long one.

-Sixbears