As the early spring ebb and flow of snow blankets and bursting crocus bulbs did their annual dance, we boiled away this years sap reserves, cleared some recent winter blow downs and found our place amongst the land in which our humble little homestead rests at the southern foot of Maines western hills in the mist of the lakes region.
Collecting sap was a daily trudge through the snow with yields of 30-40 gallons every day or two when the conditions were perfect.
This seasons added tap capacity and a long flow season resulted in more sap than our busy work schedules could keep up with... but we pushed on and did our best to keep up pace.
As the full worm moon rose and the pile of 5 gallon sap jugs grew, we were grateful to have natures fridge, which provided some leeway into how often we needed to fire up the boil pans.
Worm Moon Glow
Boiling, boiling, boiling... anytime I had a window of more than a couple hours those pans were steaming with 2 trays working overtime for a good two- three weeks.
Along with keeping up with collecting the sap, we also needed to keep up with the fuel! Having a nice arsenal of axes to work with, we made quick meditative work splitting one stout chunk of maple at a time. The focus of energy from the eye, to the mind, to the repetitive swing where all the power and force is transferred to that one sharp edge is a humbling yet restorative act.
Another restorative act is the tranquility between splitting and collecting, where we find time to watch the flames dance as the early birds begin to sing and the frozen tundra of winter slowly wakes from its frozen slumber. The piles of snow fade away like slowly drifting ground clouds.
The calm before the upcoming flurry of weeding, pruning and planting that spring brings.
But for now we enjoy the bounty of this years maple syrup production!
And on cue as the first of the years blossom is our Katharine Hodgkin dwarf iris!
Along with a busy maple syrup season the jazz scene has been bubbling with great acts popping up around New England and whenever we get a chance, we get out to a show!
First up was the Charlie Hunter Trio (Jimmys Jazz, Portsmouth NH)
Charlie Hunter (7 String Guitar)
Marcus Finnie (Drums)
Nate Clark (Saxophone)
A great show and after years of not getting to see Charlie play it was great to hear him with a new lineup of musicians and sitting literally in the pocket of the drummer lead to a bit of a drum heavy mix but damn Marcus was on it and I was happy to be there!
It was nice they kept my seat warm too because the following night I was in the same spot to soak up a night of a funky organ night with Delvon Lamarr Trio.
Rather than upload my phone snippet from behind the scenes, here is a video of the show that Jimmy's uploaded to YouTube!
As I caught my breath from these stellar back to back shows we got out as a family to support the local arts and attended Wabanaki Voices at Merrill Auditorium in Portland.
It was great to see the diversity of acts brought together in a story teller format. The highlight was a uplifting performance by Firefly. We saw him perform at the Portland Museum of Art a year or two ago and his combination of visuals and traditional native song blended with heavy EDM beats is always worth checking out!
As the days marched into April the bulbs started exploding and showing off their spring colors from crocuses to daffodils, garlic to wild ginger, mint to chives. Perennials emerged as the days grew longer and the afternoon temps coaxed the thawing earth to relax its frozen grasp.
As the weather did its typical New England dance of warm sunny afternoons that tempt the gardeners with false hope only to be followed by cold windy stretches of rain, we started seeds, assessed our dahlia tuber library and studied the 10 day forecast. On the sunny moments we got out to gather fallen branches, prune last years beds and observe the patterns of birds, insects and spring indicators. On the rainy days we sowed seeds trays inside and spent free moments immersing in the vast Rootcellar vinyl library.
Drawing inspiration, saturating myself in my collected sounds, my daily interactions and evoking my emotions through musical selections. The act of making my weekly mixes has been a very grounding and reflective experience... similar to how I express myself through words and pictures here on this blog but in a much more intuitive and in the moment way. I think of my current musical project as a journal of sounds, an exploration of the connections between time, space and abstract thought. A reflection of my experiences in this current environment.
Here is some of the most recent musical journal entries available to stream at my mixcloud site:
As I have previously mentioned, the act of organizing and arranging each mix has become a meditative and grounding space, alongside the creative process of designing the covers and providing descriptive words. The whole process has been a rewarding way to keep the creative juices flowing in my busy life as a husband, father and full time employee. Not only does it satisfy my current creative needs but also my deep passion for diving down rabbit holes of information. Finding new musicians, catalogs and the
accompanying independent record labels that work with them and hearing their stories and layers of expressive, thoughtful conversations keeps opening doors into the possibilities of sound and its interaction with life itself.
Some recent arrivals from Loveland Records out of Denmark.
As the spring season pushes up like timid but stout examples of life and hope, we notice the fortitude of nature and find that strength in ourselves to be a better person and steward to this spinning globe we call earth.
Take a walk, observe, listen and if you are ever so intrigued...
check back in as the fervor of spring growth is surely fertile for many more ramblings and thoughtful observations to come.
