you can definitely tell by our crazy weather that it’s Alaska! In the last 48 hours we have experience over 2.5 inches of rain followed by 3 inches of snow. The sun did come out yesterday afternoon and that coupled with the wind melted the snow very quickly. It is now 2:00 a.m. 38 degrees and snowing once again!
The Birch trees finally began running yesterday. Not full out running but a slow trickle so the race is now on! We will have 10 days or so of a routine that consists of gathering then slowly cooking the sap down for syrup. Yes this is a 24 hour a day job as the sap that is gathered must be cooked down and bottled to make room for more.
We are still waiting for the last goat to kid but Bandit doesn’t appear to be in any hurry. The big question is how many will she have? So far this year we have had 3 single births and 2 sets of twins from 5 does. We will keep the doelings (so far there are 4) and the bucklings will most likely become wethers and find new homes.
Sorry for the bad pics but snow rain and overly friendly goats wanting attention doesn’t make ideal photo sessions!
The names of our new kids are quite varied. Each one is named randomly and the big white boy pictured above is Olaf. Named after the movie Frozen my kids so desperately want to see. Hoping to make that happen soon!
Well time to stoke the fire and stir the syrup. I’ll leave you for now but pray blessings of plenty upon you all!
offgridalaska 
I must say I”ve never heard of birch syrup. What is the flavor like on that?
It’s a unique flavor and hard to describe but very mild flavor
The flavor is unique and difficult to describe. It is a very pleasant taste though and unlike Maple not heavy
Goats are adorable, I know you didn’t want the snow, but it it so pretty. And hope the snow doesn’t slow the Birch sap process down. Guess you will be extra busy for awhile, but don’t forget to get some sleep.