I lay the flowers on the ground and then remove my gloves to touch the gravestone.
"Thank you, Albert. It's going to be another great season. Keep looking after our trees." I put my gloves back on.
The maple tree next to Albert's grave is the only one in this part of the forest that isn't tapped. It's Albert's, and it always feels like he's alive in the forest through that tree. It would be wrong to tap it.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes and inhaling the scent of the forest.
This is my favorite time of the year. There's a fresh layer of snow on the ground that has already covered any evidence that I was here yesterday.
It's cold enough to freeze my balls, but when I'm here, this is the most peaceful I ever feel.
This forest is where my dreams come true, where my hard work produces something I'm proud of, something no one can take away from me.
I grew up idolizing my dad, hearing him say the farm belonged to the family, but he was the boss, so whatever he said was to be believed, trusted, and obeyed.
When I was nineteen, he showed my family exactly how little his word is worth, and I vowed to myself that whatever I ended up doing, I wouldn't be like him.
Whatever promises I make to this forest, I keep them all.
The forest is my stronghold, to be cherished and protected, and in it, I'm the boss.
Well, a boss freezing his balls off, but a boss, nonetheless.
I chuckle to myself and get back on the small tractor I rent just for the season. I've already done six trips to collect sap from the trees that aren't connected to the mainline that runs from most of the maple trees directly into the sugar house.
It's a complex network of pipelines that make collecting the sap a thousand times easier.
Unfortunately, it's also costly, which is the reason I don’t have pipelines reaching the whole forest. As soon as my loan is paid off, I'll be looking into doing that.
This is my last trip for today. The sap collected via the mainline into the sap tank has been in the evaporator since before the sun was even up, and now I can add my manual collection.
By tomorrow morning, I should be able to filter the first syrup batch of the season, and as soon as I have enough syrup, I'll be making maple cream.
Maple cream is hard work to produce in any quantity, but I sell as much of it as I do the syrup, so it's worth the additional work.
I unload the tractor and then park it next to the sugar house. I don't have a barn, so I cover it up with a thick tarp. It's not ideal, but maybe when Miles is back, he can help me build a small barn.
Now that Noah has Ollie, I feel bad asking him to give up his free time to build stuff with me.
That reminds me…
I pull out my phone and take a selfie with the trees and snow in the background and send it to Noah. My little man has gotten used to receiving a selfie from me every day, and I don't want to let him down.
Usually, I take it at the farm, where I grab whatever animal is close enough to feature in the photo, but this month it's going to be my ugly face and some pretty trees.
Even though the cabin is a hundred yards from the sugar house, I hear the sound of a car engine, even over the whirring of the reverse osmosis system.
I'm nowhere near the main road, so I make my way to the cabin, readying myself to send away whatever unwelcome visitor I have.
I take the steps up to the porch that wraps around the cabin and walk slowly to see who it might be before I'm seen.
A car I don't recognize is parked next to my truck, but there's no one inside.
It's been a long time since I've had investors trying to buy the land from me, but there's always someone who thinks they can do better than the ones before. Tempt me with more money.
I pick up the pace, making sure my visitor can hear me coming as I walk around the porch.
"I'm not selling—" I stop when I see Jud standing in front of the dooryard.
