Happy Spring! The long awaited birch season is finally here on the the Central Kenai Peninsula. There are a couple of days of cold ahead but 20 out of 21 of our test taps are running so we'll be tapping up shortly. Unlike maple trees which need the freeze/thaw cycle of warm and cold to produce sap - birch trees will slow down or even shut off in below freezing temps, so we must choose our start date wisely.
We are thrilled for this season as we have new woods (along with the woods on the McLane homestead) and a new, much more efficient evaporator.
The snow fall/melt in this part of Alaska has left us with just a few feet of snow and no need for snow shoes this year - which we are very excited about! While we love winter and snow, the 5 feet of it we had last winter did not make it easy (photo above is Henry and Ian trekking through last year's deep snow in April!
Check back over the next few weeks for photos and updates of this season's harvest. If you live locally and would like to come check out our operation, send us an email: info@crookedcreekbirch.com. We'd love to have you!