dpostman

GREAT pictures!!!

It is nice to see other tech and home automation enthusiasts among us. I had many X-10 toys and modules several years back. I've adopted many of the same tools you also currently use. I especially like the automated tools to control my vegetable garden and seed green house. dp

Thanks. I still regret not getting a picture when they came out. Just too excited I suppose. The wine didn't help either 😉 We had them as an appetizer... just before the Rib steaks were put on the charcoal 😊 dp

Tastes like chicken 😁 But really... it is difficult to pinpoint. If you've had Ossobuco before, where the bones are cut transversely, the marrow texture is similar. But the flavor profile takes on what you spread on top. We just spooned the marrow on home made garlic crostinis like you would with a Foie Gras Paté spread. It is mostly a texture experience, so some will totally dislike it, and some will relish it. dp

In that picture, there was close to 20 liters of finished syrup. That should be about a quarter of what we will produce this year. Last year was a good year, we made 105L. We are 3 neighborhood families involved, so we divide by 3. We don't sell any, but we do sort of bribe some of our other neighbors with it, we also barter some in exchange for some materials. I have a friend that produces artisanal bacon that they sell at a farmers market, so we swap syrup for bacon. And, my DW and I bring some to our offices to give to co-workers at Christmas. The rest, we give away to family and friends. If kept in cool and dark environment, I have some that I processed in mason jars 3 years ago that is still good. But once a bottle is opened, it should be kept in the fridge or else it will spoil within months. We definitely produce WAY more that we actually use ourselves. dp

No, we don't need to add anything. We bottle at about 195F and then keep in a cold room. I have bottles from 2 and 3 years ago still good. In fact, most maple products that we make are all just 100% syrup. They are just boiled to different temps (Density) and then stirred (Maple butter), or left alone (Maple taffy). We make some Maple walnut fudge that contains heavy cream and butter, we add some bits of walnut, so technically not 100% maple, 😉 Maple butter small batch in Cuisinart Ice cream maker (Not chilled) from 100% syrup. Taffy on Snow Granulated Maple sugar Maple walnut fudge dp

Having seen so many great food pics in this thread, I though I would pitch in. We tried cooking up Bone Marrow Canoes for the first time. They are hard to find around here. I regret not thinking of taking a pic AFTER cooking, but at least, this is what they looked like before going in. My DW loves marrow and this was one of her special requests. Both our kids (Young adults) were home for Easter weekend, but they did not care for it as much, so we ended up finishing theirs off as well 😁 We had my family as well as my wife's family over for Easter dinner. I cooked up a 14lb ham (Maple Glaze of course). sorry, no pics. So tonight's supper... Split pea soup from the leftover ham-bone. Here is a pic of the maple syrup we bottled on Friday. But, with the warm weather forecast for the rest of the week, looks like the season might end a bit early. dp

Nice. You guys are several weeks ahead of us. I just got some of my seeds in pods 2 days ago But then again... If I had salad in my garden box, the deer I took a picture of 20 minutes ago would have that all eaten up 😉 They also seem to like our bird feeders. There were 6 deer total in my back yard. Technically, I do live in the Moncton city limits, but barely, Just on the edge. Oh... and the obligatory dog photos... We had a few 4 legged guests at the sugar shack today dp

Nice. They also make special lawn mowers for this type of grass... Very fuel efficient 😁

Here I am, sitting in my office at 8am, having my second coffee and catching up on CC. And Andrew @A&L_Ont has posted 3hrs ago 😲 ouch! I wish you a great trip Andrew... and a good nights sleep😉 dp

I have a suggestion... Perhaps not eat until then 😉 dp

We also used that one frequently. But since last weekend, we have a new one... This is the way! dp

I cannot comment on how well this works on Macs, but I use Adobe Premiere Pro on Windows and have been using the Tour Box Neo controller for the past year. I'm really enjoying it and had increased my efficiency substantially. Once you get everything setup to your liking and customized the many buttons to your most used functions, it is faster than keyboard shortcuts. There is also a wireless (I think Bluetooth) version, but I have the USB version. It is also quite hefty so it does not slide around and feels nice. It also changes it's functions automatically to whatever software/window is active. I even use it in Excel. dp

My last U-matic player died about 5 years ago. I still have some archival material on some of them, but if I really need to get something, I have several very good friends of mine over at the CBC that keep a few machines running. At least they did a few years ago. Haven't needed to in a good while. I figured you would be the one to know what this is... dp

Are you saying that I should consider throwing out my U-Matic tapes??? I took the picture in front of the CC page just to prove the picture was current 😉

During a 12 day Baltic Cruise, my wife and I, who both like reading, spent a good amount of time in a very nice area for reading. On deck 6, at the very back, past the Schooner bar, past the Colony Club, they have an area they called (For some reason) Singapore Sling's. Big comfy seating with floor to ceiling windows with nice view of the wake. Only a few times during the 12 days, there was an event taking place in the Colony Club that was a bit noisy, but the rest of the time, I was amazed at how such a nice spot was devoid of people. Shaky video of general area (Aug. 2019) dp

Oh... I had never heard of it. But, no, there was also no mention of that MPLP. dp

If by MPLP, you are referring to the "Military Parental Leave Program", I do not recall it being mentioned specifically, but parts of this book would help any reader clearly understand many of the benefits of such a program. If by MPLP, you are referring to the "More Product, Less Process" approach, then, nope, not at all 😉 dp

If I may, I'd like to make a book recommendation. It is non-fiction. The Myth of Normal, by Gabor Maté. This would interest a wider audience than the title would imply. I would recommend this to anyone in the Health or Education services, and also anyone that may be going through some challenging times. I just finished it last week. It is a bit out of my usual genre (Steven Pinker, Michio Kaku...) but It has changed my perspective, understanding and compassion for people. dp

Most Maples will produce sap that has sugar in it. The concentration is highest in "Sugar Maples" between 2 and 3% depending on time of the season and other factors. Red maples and other species still produce but less concentration, thus requires more evaporation. They all have a slightly different flavor profile, so different areas will have slightly different flavor depending on ratio of different species in the mix. We are just a small backyard 3 family operation. We have about 300 trees tapped. Last year we produced about 28 gallons of finished syrup. To get that, we had to collect, carry, filter and evaporate almost 1300 gallons of sap. We don't sell any syrup, this is purely for fun. We meet our neighbours during spring at the shack more that any other tome of year. This is our sugar shack out in the woods. dp

Sorry, It is quite a common thing around here, but sometimes I forget how truelly world wide this group is. I should have specified, Maple Syrup 🍁 production. We collect sap and then boil it down. It takes 40 to 45 gallons of sap to evaporate it down to get 1 gallon of maple Syrup. dp

As for... How are things where I am? Right after work, I changed into my "Sap collecting clothes" and headed out on the trails. The sap is running pretty good this week. We will be boiling all weekend. A few pics of our trail companions Jazz & Ozzy dp

I've seen a bit of discussion about grocery lists. I'll add my 2 cents. We've been using a free app called Bring!. It works on Android and iOS, can create multiple lists, shareable and live updates. We've been using it for about 5 years now. dp

Don't forget the Pepper Grinders dp

Here is a picture my wife took from the Burj Khalifa in Dubai last December. I count at least 3 cruise ships docked in the harbour, but Can't make out which ones. dp