Another Look Behind the Scenes at Silloway Maple

rainbow trout Hours of paperwork for taxes. Whew! It’s what I do, late at night, early in the morning, and off and on throughout the day.

“What’s this for?”—I’ll send Paul a text—“1/29 Precast NH $1207.16?”

His reply always reminds me of concrete supplies, or tapping supplies, or, sometimes 50 # bags of almonds, making me hungry!

The USDA contributes to the stack, with ag census and marketing surveys.

I was looking over 1099 requirements, for those who work but are not employees, and noted, with the eyebrow raising that so many things cause, “…and fish sold.” On a 1099? That’s right “…payments for fish (or other aquatic life) you purchase from…” I guess that’s why they call the form 1099 MISC. Another look behind the scenes of maple syrup production, the tedious required paperwork done beside the wood stove, coffee on, faithful dog under my table.

Long ago, a pleasant woman came to buy some syrup, and told me all about her business, which was doing QuickBooks for small businesses. She did not charge an outrageous rate, and was familiar with farm terms. Where is she now?

Looking at this beautiful Rainbow Trout brings back memories from my childhood on our family dairy farm. My Dad stocked our pond, right out behind the barn. He stood on the end of the diving board at 4:00 in the afternoon, just before chore time, and cast out handfuls of pelleted fish food. The trout jumped to feed on it, leaving lovely concentric rings in the water. Mom and her Uncle Albert, who lived with us, caught them for supper. A beautiful fish!