2019 is here and it's almost time to tap. Where did the time go? 2018 was a year of ups and downs.
The downer was starting with the knowledge that something had been missed when I had prostate surgery in 2017. The next steps to get rid of that were hormone and radiation treatments. I got the hormone treatment on January 2nd to start the new year and had the radiation treatments, 39 of them, starting on March 27th and ending on May 21st. The results of the treatments wouldn't be fully known until after the hormone treatment had worn off. I got the first good news in September and then got the confirmation that the cancer was gone on December 21st.
Fortunately there were more uppers than downers. I made more syrup in 2018 than I did in 2017 even though the season never seemed to take off. My son made a surprise trip up from NC for Maple Weekend which made my wife and I very happy. Our youngest daughter who also lives in NC got married in September, bought a house and her and my new son in law are planning to start a family. I also found out on Christmas Day that my step granddaughter is going to have a baby in July. I'm going to be a great grandfather! My wife says that we are too young for this but I say "bring it on". It was a good Christmas for me and my family.
I go into 2019 optimistic that it's going to be a better year than the last two were.
Happy New Year!