Fall
Autumn in Vermont brings cooler temperatures and a dramatic shift in scenery. Tourists flock to the Green Mountain State to take in the gorgeous colors; while perennial gardens may be looking shabby, the fall foliage more than makes up for it. The colors emerge as the growing season comes to a close; chlorophyll is no longer being produced due to the decreased amount of sunlight, and the carotenoids and anthocyanins, though always present in the leaves, are finally able to reveal themselves. The brilliance of the colors any given year depends highly on the weather; moisture, temperatures, and the health of the tree affect the degree of color that will emerge. Sugar maples, the trees used for making maple syrup, have leaves that turn orange. Oaks, other maple trees, aspen, beech and dogwood also change from green to something on the warm end of the color spectrum.
Like the other seasons, sugaring activities in the fall demand a large amount of work to be done outside, allowing for hours of viewing and admiring these beautiful fall colors. The tubing in the sugarbush must be checked for downed trees, squirrel and coyote bite marks, and any other types of damage. It is far easier to check the tubing pipelines now, than later when they are covered in feet of snow. Road and equipment maintenance and repairs must also be made, along with any number of improvements that might make the operation run more smoothly. Snowshoes, drills, hammers, and anything with an engine must be accounted for and checked for soundness. Supplies must be bough, budgets balances, plans planned; there is plenty of work to go around.
Sugaring aside, there is plenty to do around the house: it's harvesting time. There are tomatoes and apples to be canned, pumpkins to carve, beans and broccoli to blanch and freeze, root vegetables and winter squash to be picked and stored in a cool dry space, and firewood to be stacked. And of course, syrup to be delivered en mass to co-ops, hotels and farm stands, as the leaf-peepers travel from far and wide to peep the leaves to their heart's content, and boost our state's economy.
Like the other seasons, sugaring activities in the fall demand a large amount of work to be done outside, allowing for hours of viewing and admiring these beautiful fall colors. The tubing in the sugarbush must be checked for downed trees, squirrel and coyote bite marks, and any other types of damage. It is far easier to check the tubing pipelines now, than later when they are covered in feet of snow. Road and equipment maintenance and repairs must also be made, along with any number of improvements that might make the operation run more smoothly. Snowshoes, drills, hammers, and anything with an engine must be accounted for and checked for soundness. Supplies must be bough, budgets balances, plans planned; there is plenty of work to go around.
Sugaring aside, there is plenty to do around the house: it's harvesting time. There are tomatoes and apples to be canned, pumpkins to carve, beans and broccoli to blanch and freeze, root vegetables and winter squash to be picked and stored in a cool dry space, and firewood to be stacked. And of course, syrup to be delivered en mass to co-ops, hotels and farm stands, as the leaf-peepers travel from far and wide to peep the leaves to their heart's content, and boost our state's economy.
