The first day of fall surprised me this year- it’s been so hot that it snuck up on me. But as soon as the season’s page turned, we were met with rain, cooler temps, and the realization that the days are getting shorter.
For the most part, the work of sugar season begins for us after the leaves come down. Once they’ve fallen to the ground it becomes easier to move through the woods and see what’s what. Michael and our friend Jon Moore have been working on firewood for the sugar house this summer and we are happy to report that it is cut, split, stacked and curing under cover of the sugarhouse roof.
For those of you who are new, welcome! And to you who have been with us through the years, a warm hello.
We are writing to you in this shoulder season to share a new project that Michael and I have been working on this year. We are expanding the storytelling that we’ve been doing here for the farm, and have been making a series of short films about our lives as makers, called
Wheeler and Michael: IN THE MAKING.
You may have seen our first videos that we shared here last sugar season: Sweetening the Pan and Handle Firewood Once. They're part of a larger project, a series of short films following the seasons of a handmade life: in the sugar house, the wood shop, and the leather shop, in the garden, on the land, and wherever the materials of the moment lead us.
They're unhurried and centered on the process of making the thing, with voiceovers that share the stories, musings, and ideas that come up along the way. They're not tutorials, but they might satisfy your inner autodidact. Mostly, they feel like time spent working with us.
We're releasing one a month. Here are a few that we are most proud of.
Making A Dovetailed Coatrack For Our Mudroom
Michael hand cuts dovetails for a wall-hung coat rack- if you make it right, it’ll be there till the house burns down.
Revisiting The Chairs I Made In Sweden
This video is a look back at Wheeler’s journey as a maker and the process of reupholstering a pair of chairs, 20 years later.
If you like what we do, two things would mean a lot to us:
Subscribe to our youtube channel:
@wheelerandmichael: IN THE MAKINGJoin our IN THE MAKING newsletter, where we'll share each new film when it’s released along with essays and photos from our workshops and farm.
And if you know someone who'd enjoy these, please pass them along. Right now almost everyone watching is someone we know, so every share makes a real difference as we put this new work out into the world.
We will also continue to share farm related updates, stories and videos about maple sugaring here on the Waterfall Farm blog and newsletter.
We'd love to hear what you think.
-Wheeler