2025 - We sing a song that says, “Will your anchor hold in the storms of life, when the clouds unfold their wings of strife? When the strong tides lift and the cables strain, will your anchor drift or firm remain?” As we know, the storms of life will vary emotionally, physically and spiritually. This song describes a storm “at sea” and nods to all the above. This past syrup season, we too had a storm that affected us in these ways. This storm wasn’t “at sea.” It was on land, in the form of ice. SO MUCH ICE!! In February with our crew, we did our normal yearly clean up. We got equipment ready, did repairs, cleared debris that fell during the year, rerouted tubing and we tapped. Little did we know the generational storm that was ahead of us. We were almost 3 weeks into our season, which was looking to be a record season. On March 28th we had already made 2115 gallons of syrup! Then in a matter of one weekend, that all changed. Trees everywhere in 12 counties in northern Michigan began to bend and break under the immense weight of ice. It was heart breaking to see and hear those poor trees snapping like toothpicks. We had no power, therefore, no heat or water. In the midst of the storm we asked ourselves, “Is this the end of the season? The end of our business?” A lot of questions and no answers. It was hard and tears fell, but our anchor didn’t move. We knew there’s so much more to life than earthly possessions. When the storm was over, it was quiet again. There were trees and power lines down everywhere. The sun came out and all the ice glimmered on the trees. We were now surrounded in beautiful chaos. It was still too dangerous to go into the woods so we waited. Then, help arrived. It is IMPOSSIBLE to list them all, but they know who they are. Linesmen from all over the USA restored the power. Fellow sugar makers, family and friends volunteered their time and energy, working beside us in the woods. The destruction was overwhelming if you looked too far ahead, so, we focused on what was in front of us, at our feet. Eventually, after hearing chain saws for days, dragging brush and raising and repairing the lines together, 200+ man hours later, we made syrup again. We finished our season on April 18th with 2591 gallons of syrup. The ice storm 0f 2025 will not soon be forgotten, nor will the safety and support we received in so many ways. We can’t say thank you enough. We’ve been humbled and it reminds us we’re never really alone. People continue to ask us how we are doing and how are the trees? We’re more than blessed. Only time will tell for sure the full extent of the tree damage and restoration. Meanwhile, we keep moving forward like all the years before. Stronger, because even though it was tested, our anchor didn’t move.

2026 - Snowshoes. They were required to get around the woods almost every time we went out. We had LOTS of snow that made traversing difficult at times. With the snowshoes on, sometimes you would step and stay on the snow within a few inches. Other times, you would sink to your knees. It was a workout for sure! In the sugarhouse, our season from the first boil to the last, was about 6 weeks, which is an average length season for us. The trees did well producing 2501 total gallons of syrup this year. After last years ice storm, we weren’t sure how much sap we would get. It all turned out well for which we’re very grateful! We did acquire a new woods to lease and attempted to get it up and working. We had lots of help from our friends. Together, we used a skid steer and a mini excavator to remove downed trees (from the ice storm) to “clean up” the woods prior to tubing installation. We did get some tubing installed but were unable to finish it due to time restraints. We hope this summer, to finish installing the remainder of the tubing. Tapping in the other woods obviously needed to be accomplished, so we set our attention to that. Once we completed tapping, our boiling season began. As always, we couldn’t accomplish our tasks without our health and strength from God and the help from Mike who works very hard doing whatever it is we ask of him. This year in the sugarhouse, we enjoyed having our friend Benny working along side us. Everything went smoothly…no burnt pans and electricity the entire time! Our Michigan Maple Weekend was successful too with many visitors stopping by to chat and get a tour. In other news, our daughter Jill got married in October and we gained another son, Bradly! They were married in Mackinaw City on a beautiful, brisk, autumn morning on the shore of Lake Michigan. They now reside and work in the Grand Rapids/Holland area. How fast the year has gone by again! With our 16th season complete, we look forward, Lord willing, to the remainder of the year seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones as we sell our harvest and continue on life’s journey!