Fleurys Maple Hill Farm

07/13/2026

We also visited 4 Indian forts and 2 Civil War battlefields on our midwest trip, learning a lot about the history of this area of our country. We were so glad that the Jersey Convention gave us a great reason to visit 4 new states. Next year the Convention will be in Asheville, NC. Since we had such a good time this year, we hope to attend next year’s convention as well, then take some extra time to see a few of National Park sites in that area.

07/11/2026

Tall Grass Prairie National Preserve in KS was another stop on our trip. This 11,000 acre preserve was created in 1996 from land that was farmed continuously from 1878 by the original owners, Spring Hill Farm, to the final owners, the Z Bar Ranch. Now this land is being preserved as a tall grass prairie, to protect the flora and fauna of this unique environment. Tall grass prairies once covered 140 million acres of North America, but now less than 4 percent remains intact, mostly in the Kansas Flint Hills. We visited the museum, toured the historic house and farm buildings, and then walked out into the prairie to see the flowers, birds, and bison that live here once again. It was a beautiful area to visit!

07/10/2026

On our June midwest trip, we visited Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. This Park was created in 1921, however people had come to the Springs for hundreds of years before that, claiming that the hot waters were healing and rejuvenating. We visited the Visitor Center to watch a film about the history of the area, we viewed the ornate early 1900’s bathhouses along Bath House Row and learned how they operated back in their glory days, and we walked along the Grand Promenade behind the bathhouses and saw some of the hot springs emerging from the ground. We only spent a half day there, but we could have stayed a lot longer since it was such a unique place!

07/09/2026

We took a 16 day road trip during June. We spent 4 days at the annual American Jersey Cattle Association convention, which was held in Springfield, MO this year. Then we used the rest of the time to see various national parks, preserves, battlefields, and forts in MO, AR, OK, and KS. Although most people think that driving through the flat lands of the midwest is boring, we were actually very interested in viewing the scenery. Being farmers, we really enjoyed seeing all the agricultural lands, farm buildings, grain elevators, and cattle. We also saw a huge number of oil rigs, windfarms, and free-standing communication towers, none of which are common for our area of the county. Our midwest experience was also enlivened when we heard two tornado warning sirens and had to shelter in place, although luckily a tornado didn’t actually touch down near us. So our trip definitely wasn’t boring! And we have now visited 49 of the 50 states, with only Texas left to see!

06/17/2026

Just in time for rhubarb and strawberry seasons! And, of course, maple is always " in season" ! 😄

Maple Monday! Maple Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

Ingredients for Topping:
1 cup oatmeal
2/3 cup whole wheat flour or use gluten free
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil or another substitute

Filling
3 1/2 cups rhubarb cut in 1/2-inch thick slices
3 1/2 cups strawberries about 1 pound, hulled and sliced if big, halved if tiny
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions
To make topping, combine oatmeal, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter with a fork or pastry blender (or your fingers) until it resembles sandy crumbs. Gradually drizzle in maple syrup, stirring continuously so it evenly distributes (think more like adding the butter than stirring in dry sugar).
Combine fruit filling ingredients in a separate bowl, then pour into 8 x 8 pan. Scatter topping over filling.
Bake at 350 for approximately 45 minutes. Filling should bubble up around pan sides when done.
Let sit for 30-60 minutes to allow filling to cool slightly and gel. Top with ice cream or whipped cream for a special treat.
1/4 cup instant tapioca or quick tapioca

Recipe by: Inger with Art of Natural Living

06/08/2026

We attended the Vermont Dairy Festival this past weekend. Held on the first weekend in June in our neighboring town of Enosburg for the past 70 years, it always helps us kick off our summer fun. On Sunday, we manned the Dairy Promotion Booth, as we have done for many years, handing out free milk and cheese to promote our state’s large dairy industry. We really enjoy this chance to interact with consumers and answer their questions about dairy farming. It seems ironic that now we have retired from dairying, we actually have more time to promote dairying and dairy products than we had while we still were dairy farmers ourselves!

06/05/2026

Summer is finally here! Our spring sugaring work is done, so we will be taking time off during the next three months for some summer activities. We will be doing some out-of-state traveling and sightseeing, as well as some local camping, swimming, and picnicking. And of course we will be spending lots of time with family and friends, just relaxing and having fun. We wish everyone a very happy summer, whatever you are doing!

06/03/2026

Someone commented on our last photo, saying that most of our maple trees look young. In that section of our sugarwoods, that is correct. But, as a whole, it is actually a mature forest, full of the whole range of age groups, from very old granny trees to tiny saplings. However, in the area in our last photo, many of the trees that Steve’s grandfather and father tapped have now died off and fallen down, leaving only their progeny growing. Those saplings have now grown big enough to tap, so that is why Steve was out there putting in new lines in that section.

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06/02/2026

During sugaring, Steve found some maple trees that have grown big enough to be tapped, so he is doing that this week. He took this photo and said “Now is the time for adding new drops, either by adding new trees on existing lines or by stringing new lines to new trees, like I'm doing here. I used to do it during sugaring after I tapped, but I waited until after the season this year. It is far more comfortable for this kind of work now than in February. It's too cold for this old body!” He also has found some down and dead trees that can no longer be tapped, so he is removing the drop lines from the lateral lines that go to them. However, by the time he is done, the additions and deletions will most likely cancel each other out, so our tap number will probably stay the same at 3300.

05/29/2026

Steve just repaired a high-tension suspension wire that holds up one of our mainlines. During sugaring, it broke and created a big sag in that vacuum line. If a sapline starts to sag, it creates a "dead zone" where sap pools rather than flowing smoothly. When sap pools in a sag, it creates temporary blockages in the line, which cause the sap to move in sudden, uneven surges rather than a steady stream. Also, during cold nights, the sap sitting in a sag can easily freeze solid, blocking the entire line and stopping sap flow until the line thaws out again. And finally, sap that pools and sits in sagging tubing during warm spells can quickly spoil, which lowers the sap's quality. So, sagging saplines reduce the efficiency of the vacuum and lower the sap yield and quality. Therefore, the lines need to be pulled tight, with no bowing or dipping of the line. To achieve this, sugarmakers hold up their mainlines with suspension wires, using steel wire-ties every 8 – 12 inches to attach them together. Steve didn’t have time during sugaring to fix this particular broken suspension wire, since it occurred in the middle of a 1,150 foot long mainline, so he fixed it now. First, he removed all the steel wire-ties from the mainline. Then he repaired the suspension wire by putting in a patch and tightened it back up. Finally, he had to wire tie it back to the mainline again. It was a long, tedious job that took him 3 days to complete, but it was necessary to do it before our next sugaring season.