A6005

Winter Scenes

Fred's Anecdotal Note

Farm Horses

'sleigh bells ring, are you listening?'

Throughout the winter, the sound of jingle bells fills the air. A single horse open sleigh carries one or two persons to relatives, neighbors, or town. A larger two-horse sleigh accommodates three or more. It is "sugaring time" and almost every maple tree has a metal bucket attached to collect the dark sap. The horses will pull the large wooden collection sled through the forests to transport the dark sap to the sugar shack. Rich, amber maple syrup will remain after boiling. During the snow months, hardwood logs will be harvested and pulled by the team to the farm's sawmill. At night, they will rest in the big barn.