In this blog post, I will explain exciting activities Charla and I have been working on, and then I will discuss the conslusion of our June visit with the delivery of lumber needed to build the sugarhouse.
We all have different motivations and priorities that govern each day for us. Some of us plan each day in advance, some take each day as it arrives. Neither should be considered good or bad as there are pluses and minuses to each. A planner is very good at establishing tasks and timelines, however they might be a little less flexible if a task arrives that wasn't planned for. On the other end of the specturn, are individuals who have a general direction for their day, and can accept a newly arrived task with open arms. The world needs equally as many of each type to keep progress moving forward.
I am of the planner variety, which served me well in my line of work once I learned to accept change as part of the plan (I did have to work regularly at this challenge). And so, this project has been mapped out at a macro level and I continue the micro-level planning as each phase appears next on the plan. One of macro questions regarding the production of maple syrup is what will we do with the syrup once it is produced? There is a ready market at the wholesale level for all maple syrup, or we can look to sell our syrup at the retail level. Like most products, selling at the retail level provides for more income, but also requires the development of sales channels and marketing efforts both of which require financing and energy.
Charla and I decided a while ago that we wanted to sell our syrup at the retail level, most notably over the internet or “online”.
Charla and I had similar upbringings in rural parts of the United States. She is from Kentucky, where Sorghum Syrup is produced from squeezing the juice out of the sorghum plant in the fall of the year and the juice is then concentrated into a syrup remarkedly similar to the way maple sap is concentrated into maple syrup. Sorghum syrup has the consistency of honey, with the color of a robust maple syrup with a unique flavor cherished by our southern friends throughout history. Sorghum is a natural product, like maple syrup that mother nature has provided for those that are able and want to produce.
We live in in Pennsylvania and several years ago we were on a back country road and came across a honey farm stand. We joked at the time that we had just found our third naturally sweet product mother earth offers us. Fast forward to about 12 months ago where we discussed in earnest the concept of selling the three naturally sweet products (and products made from them) online. Today, Pennvertucky LLC is real. Since retirement we have built out the Pennvertucky room in our home where we are working through various product recipes for each of the three core products of Pennsylvania Honey, Vermont Maple Syrup, and Kentucky Sorghum Syrup. It should be noted that According to Jean LLC is real and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pennvertucky. Pennvertucky.com is under construction and we hope to be live with the website and our products in early 2024.
Now back to the blog post. Below you will see a layout of the sugarhouse (Thank you for the advice Danny Ducharme, of Northeast Maple Products, helping me tweak the design).
The "A" area is the main structure of the sugarhouse, "B" is the area we will store wood to "fire" the arch / evaporator, and "F" will be an area we can escape to for food and rest when needed. There will be an attached area "C" that will house the sap storage tanks, "D" will be a small insulated area for the vacuum pump and sap releaser and "E" is the generator shed.
The additional rough drawings (the extent of my artistic abilities), are what the outside of the sugarhouse will look like.
We received delivery of the lumber in June needed to build out the sugarhouse (some assembly required). The lumber was purchased from Evergreen Forest Products of Lyndonville, VT. Great rough sawn lumber cut to order. We ordered 90, 2"x10" for the top plate and headers, 278, 2"x4" for roof and wall strapping, 200 2"x8" for the roof joists, 250 1"x6" boards for the siding and 350 1"x2" for the batton. The lumber is green and so we took delivery of it now. It is drying and waiting for us to build the sugarhouse starting in the spring (2024).
Upcoming posts will now focus on our September / October trip to Vermont where we will attempt to pour a 6-inch cement slab for the remotely located sugarhouse.
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