Instincts

Photo by Jenny Ellison

The day before Easter we pulled the taps from the maple trees, washed the cans we collected sap in and the pans in which we boiled it. We stacked the split fire wood neatly and covered it. We’d boiled off the last syrup earlier in the week and the sap hadn’t run since then.

Even though we’d only finished 50 quarts of syrup compared to 200 quarts last year, it felt like time to close the sugarbush for the year. We’d heard the spring peepers croaking in the swamps and the sand hill cranes flew across the sky. Saturday, we found bloodroot in bloom, a sure sign that sugarbush was over. Every year the blood root bloom as we dismantle our syruping operation. Our instincts had been right.

Monday morning, I walked out of the barn in the pouring rain to feed Simone and let the chickens out of the pen for the day. Simone’s instincts told her that the square shape in the musty smelling green flapping poncho should not be trusted. She recognized the bottle and my voice, but I looked wrong and smelled wrong. She wasn’t about to get close enough to nurse. I took off the poncho to feed her.

The next day Newton and I walked the hayfield through the still damp grasses. He darted from side to side, nose busy following fresh scents – deer, fox, gopher. Suddenly he stopped, threw himself to the ground and wriggled ecstatically. I can’t begin to imagine what instinct causes a dog to roll himself in poop, but it sure stunk.

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π Day

Dave and I are geeks, there is no getting around it. In addition to his medical degree, Dave has a Master’s degree in physical chemistry. I have a Masters’ degree in biophysical sciences. We subscribe to four science journals not counting Dave’s medical journals. Our personal library ranges from astronomy to zoology with hundreds of books in between. The fact that we are shepherds hasn’t changed our love of science.

So it’s not surprising that we celebrate π Day (or Pi Day if you don’t know how to pronounce π), March 14, 3-14. Π is a mathematical constant, an infinite number that is used to calculate the circumference of a circle from its diameter (circumference = π times the diameter) . It’s a useful number. For example, when we’re trying to figure out how many taps we can put in a big maple tree, we know that in general, it’s one tap for every 31 inches of circumference. If the tree is twenty inches across, its circumference is  3.14159 X 20 or  62.8 inches around. That means that tree could have two taps. 

Because π is such an important and useful number, we celebrate π on 3-14, and, if possible, at 1:59p.m. we eat a piece of pie. This year, we’re going to have pecan pie made with maple syrup to celebrate both the number and the maple trees which we’ll begin tapping this weekend.