not quite ready for business

[Mike Van]

These two pics today of my sugarhouse, as you can see, not ready to open.http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/MikeVan/sh11.jpg All I needs a snowshovel, right? http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/MikeVan/sh211.jpg

[ctjim]

all snowed in just like us down in se ct, although my cousin plowed a path up to the house and through the fields. setting the last of my gravity runs is going to make for tough work after tonights storm, it was already over knee deep when i was working the other day.

[lafite]

it's going to be a slow start of the season. I'm glad that I've researched gravity for this season to have 3 collection points instead of 70 milk jugs!

[markct]

yea in years past my few mainlines that were only a foot or so off the ground in places were fine, this year they are gona need some shoveling!

[Mike Van]

We only got another 8" or so of snow last night, I feel gyped. :lol:

[batsofbedlam]

I may not get to my sugarhouse until May.

[markct]

only 8 inches mike? we got a bit over a foot here, spent all day moving snow, got up at 4:45 to plow out to go to work then at work spent all day moving snow with the payloader and then trucked out some of it since our parking lot is running outa room, then came home and finished cleaning up around the barn and shop, this snow sure cuts into the maple prep time! glad i got and early start this year!

[collinsmapleman2012]

wow we usually get all that snow, ive seen 4 feet at one time before. we got just shy of a dusting last night:D:razz: i do wish we had more snow, helps prolong the season:)

[ctjim]

another 16.5in here in my area, had to wade through the now almost waist deep snow to get to a small shed in my field where i keep some equipment for gardening and clear the snow from its roof so it won't cave in. thinking i may need to get some snowshoes for placing and collecting from buckets this yr.

[Thiems sugarshack]

I coulnt believe how deep the snow is.I just walked through the feild and it was above my knee.I should have known we have gotten 4 good snow storms in the past 4 weeks and another one possible for this wed.Boy was the farmers alamac way wrong this year.

[Monster Maples]

We are due for a storm on Wed as well. I don't know, shaping up weather wise like last year. I sure hope not. The Farmers Almanac for my area has been way off as well. Accuweather isn't any better either. Thursday I checked that, and it looked like I was going to tap in this Thursday. Now, their forecast says it will be below freezing for the next 14 days with the exception of 2 days. :mad:

[Mike Van]

I do hope it's not an ice storm. The thought of more snow is bad, but hundreds of broken maple branches gushing sap is even worse.

[Dill]

We are getting 10-14 in the next 2 days. Most of the storms have been worse for you CT. I have a friend in Salem CT who has gotten nailed with every storm.
Here's my SH 2 storms ago. The roof still hasn't unloaded.

[maplemaple2020]

here in East Hampton,CT we broke the record of 45 inches of snow since 1945 we have now 50 in and its still snowing now i dont know when to start tapping to much snow

[valleyman]

Just wanted to share the photos with you. I thought this was a nice shot of my backyard and sugar shack.

[Mike Van]

Almost time to start digging out here. The snow/sleet really sucks. I spent 3 hours on the roof of a friends indoor riding stable, I'd have stayed longer but my back said no. 3 ft of snow on that roof. No plans for me to tap yet, maybe mid to late next week?

[batsofbedlam]

Tonight's NBC30 weather man says 3 more weeks of this same weather and temps. Oh Boy!

[ctjim]

Almost time to start digging out here. The snow/sleet really sucks. I spent 3 hours on the roof of a friends indoor riding stable, I'd have stayed longer but my back said no. 3 ft of snow on that roof. No plans for me to tap yet, maybe mid to late next week?
i know that feeling mike, spent sun,1/2 mon shoveling the barns/sheds over at my familys farm. long range weather guess says that our active pattern may last about 3 more weeks. i was hoping to try and tap a bit earlier this yr because of last seasons disaster, but by the looks of the weather i may wait until presidents day. i'm thinking it will be tough going for the begining of the season.

[valleyman]

I heard this morning that there might be a shift in the jet stream around Valentines Day putting us on warmer side of weather. :D

Hope they're right.

[Mike Van]

My hands are in the shape of a snow shovel handle, and I haven't even started on the sugarhouse. All the collapses around the state, I got worried about some of my barns & started doing some weight removal from the roofs. 5:00 pm, I'm dragging. My age is showing, spring can't come soon enough.

[markct]

yea i had the fun of shoveling roofs today too, shoveled the scalehouse at work, and then came home and did the barn, a steep metal roof, but not enough to slide the snow, altho i slid pretty well on it a few times! had to push from the peak as my dad pulled the rest with a roof rake from the ground, then shoveled the less steep addition on the front of the barn. im beat and ready for spring! but atleast i did get my 400 ft of vac line hung up overhead from the shop where the vac pump is to a utility pole they a couple trees, that way its up outa the way year round, no more rolling and unrolling it across the ground every year and every time i had to drive out to the back field during the season

[Mike Van]

I took the day off, my back liked me for it too. Tomorrow, back to the snow shovel I guess, gotta get that shed ready to boil.

[markct]

yea i spent the evening with the woodstove going in the sugarhouse finishing up a few little things, putting the hoses and fittings on the filter press and finishing pan, and finished the plumbing for the uv light. planning to dig out the truck and the sap tank and get a load of water to do a test boil tommorow since the temps look somewhat mild outside

[Mike Van]

I'm gaining ground here, the pic looks a little better http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/MikeVan/sh2011.jpg It was cold today, but not that bitter cold from January, the sun's getting warmer. Still looking to get going Sat.

[DaveB]

I'm gaining ground here, the pic looks a little better http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/MikeVan/sh2011.jpg It was cold today, but not that bitter cold from January, the sun's getting warmer. Still looking to get going Sat.

Looks like you have about a 1/3 of the snow I have in the northeastern part of the state. The snow is a good ways up my door. I'm planning on doing some digging out this weekend and have a guy with snow shoes coming to tap about 100 or so at one of our bushes.

I'm hoping that the snow will go down next week and we can get to some other areas next weekend. Not every day looks good, but temperature wise there looks to be some good days over the next two weeks and I want that sap!

Dave

[Mike Van]

I tapped about 50 yesterday, not one running. 3:00 PM I was just beat from breaking through the crust on the snow & dropping through over my knees. The pic. of the sugarhouse doesn't really tell the story, as the afternoon sun gets it pretty good. Anywhere around here you stick a ruler in, it's between 24 - 30 in, except along the fence rows where it's 40" or so. Last weeks sleet/rain really beat it down before it froze. I've got another batch to do today, and they should be running on Monday. I see a lot of cold nights in the future, as the snowpack will be like a giant fridge for weeks to come.

[ctjim]

i tapped a few yesterday, mainly the few gravity runs i need a ladder for. hauled my tapping gear out on w/ me on snowshoes. once in to my area i had to take the shoes off to climb the ladder not fun snow in the woods is deep a few places i fell through almost up to my thigh and in almost all spots its knee deep. planning on heading out now to finish tapping my 100+ buckets. this week looks good weather wise, but i'm not sure it will melt much w/ the crust of ice on top.

[DaveB]

A lighter buddy of mine was able to walk on top of most of the snow but did struggle in some spots. He was able to get 70 taps in so it looks like we're on out way. I tried but I found that I would sink more (I weigh more too!) so I worked on clearing a path to the sugar house. With my snow blower in the shop the 200' distance took almost 2 hours. The snow is about knee high at the lowest and around thigh high like you said in others. That was in an open area....I'd hate to see it out in the woods!

Here's to a good week...5 out of 7 days 40° of higher!

Dave

[ctjim]

tapped all of my buckets yesterday. thankfully i had got some snowshoes because i needed them. bad part is i couldn't drive a tractor out to tap and collect snow is just too deep and crusty, so i will be collecting w/ a sled pulled by hand until i can get out w/ the tractor. only had a couple of trees drip when i tapped them, but it was cold, windy and we had a few snow showers out my way.

[dhbiker1]

I don't know quite how much, but it was running some this morning in Salem. I turned the vac on at 5:30 and left for work. It's a good thing I have a mother who can turn on and off the vac, refill the oil, etc, because otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to run it much. We'll see what it looks like this afternoon.

[Mike Van]

Just got in from checking some of mine, 5:00 PM, not enough to even dump buckets. Some had an inch, some less. I really didn't expect too much, being it was -4 F just a few days ago. Hopfully the end of the week will be better. Also, the wind blew most of the day, that always seems to be a run killer. On the bright side, the snow did melt some, at least its more compacted. The first few pickups are going to be tough, until there's a good path beat down to the trees.

[lafite]

I hear you about the snow...I collected close to 25 gallons today. The gravity runs were moving very well considering it didnt get below freezing last night.

the tough part is that I might have to throw the collected sap out since my only feasible day to start boiling is Friday.

Wednesday looks like the start of a great run.

[Mike Van]

If you left the sap out, it should freeze solid tonight, and not thaw until maybe Thursday? I don't think it'll spoil - Maybe late March, but not with the cold thats coming back tonight.

[paqmom]

Hubby helped me dig out the wood piles and the pad where I place my wood stove for my hobby. I am so sick of shoveling!!!!!

I slogged through snow over 2 feet deep to place four taps today but I'm fighting bronchitis and 'almost' ear infections. Doc placed me on antibiotics today so I'm hoping I'll have more energy tomorrow not to mention my girl friend offered me her snow shoes!!!!!:D When I go to tap her trees tomorrow, I'll snag them and finish putting in the remainder of my 30 or so taps. I couldn't imagine walking out to my furthest trees without snowshoes!

I don't anticipate boiling before this weekend. I plan on stashing the collected sap in the HUGE HUGE snow piles surrounding my sugaring area. The days will be about 40-50 but the snow piles aren't melting much before May.

[Mike Van]

drip.......long pause..........drip.............. Not much here yet, 10F this morning, hard to thaw out from that. Tomorrow looks better.

[ctjim]

drip.......long pause..........drip.............. Not much here yet, 10F this morning, hard to thaw out from that. Tomorrow looks better.
thats about right for my trees also. hoping tomorrow and fri will be better.

[markct]

my vac lines are running great today but my gravity lines have done very little still

[Mike Van]

Finally, I'm running pretty good, but tied up tonight & can't boil. Tomorrow for sure I have mud!!! Two weeks ago, mud was the furthest thing from my mind.

[ctjim]

today wasn't too bad for me, collected about 50 gal. and thats from all my reds on gravity/buckets. some were still running at around 5pm when i finished collecting. in the woods you could really feel the cold pockets and in the cold pockets there was very little sap running. still can't get out to my further woods trees with the tractor, so i had to go in w/ snowshoes,sled and small 25gal keg to collect, not much fun but the syrup will be worth it.

[markct]

i collected about 300 gal today, boiled down most of it, got about 75 left in the tank, still running in on the vac lines even late at night, but im wondering how tommorow will flow since we arnt supposed to have a freeze tonight

[Mike Van]

Nice freeze here this morning, Mark 30F. I think we'll be running again. Big freeze coming though. All systems stop it looks like.

[markct]

hmm looks like here it only got down to the mid 30s, but will see how it goes, the vac seems to keep it running a bit longer without a freeze. atleast over the weekend is supposed to cool back down but still be up to about 40 so should flow some

[ctjim]

temp got to 31 last night here atleast the thermometer read 31 when i got up. hopefully today will be another good run, as i think its supposed to get colder again and windy for sat and next week.

[Mike Van]

I had about 50 gal. yesterday from 50 taps that I boiled off. This was a first - lightning while making syrup! - What wierd weather, it was almost hot at 5:00 PM, down to 38 when I finished at 7, then went to bed at 10 it was 46 again. This morning, 36 and the wind howling. I may have some more [left over from yesterdays run] today, then it looks pretty slow with single digits at night.

[Mike Van]

Here's an action shot from the other day. First boil is usually not as good as the rest, there's no ash built up below the grates, no sap close to being finished that gives off that smell we all like so much. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v386/MikeVan/sh003.jpg But, you gotta start someplace. I don't think I'll see any more until late week.

[markct]

tonight i filtered and bottled the 8 gallons i had in the finishing pan from the last couple boils, was surprised to see it was dark amber! was close to medium but just a touch too dark for medium, tastes great tho

[batsofbedlam]

I bottles 15 gallons yesterday from our first run and it to was grade A dark amber. You never know from one year to the next.

[markct]

weird how that happens, glad its not just me! kinda wondered what i coulda done different that made it so dark! not that i mind myself and most of my customers like the dark stuff anyhow

[batsofbedlam]

We rarely get light syrup here; I think the soil type and weather determine that.

[Mike Van]

Mine's just the oposite - usually light & medium only, the season has to really run late for me to get dark syrup.

[markct]

well i know part of my dark syrup is the 80 percent or so soft maples, and in the past i also figured my 2x2 front pan with only 2 sections also contributed, but now i have a new welded 3 section pan

[Tanta K]

I collected 75 gallons from 29 taps on Thursday. Started boiling Friday into Saturday. Not quite to syrup when I had to leave. It's been frozen in the pan since then. Still frozen today. Probably still frozen tomorrow. Maybe I can boil it on Wed. and it'll be okay. I'll do a taste test before I think of filtering and bottling. Need more sap though...will the thaw ever come?

[Mike Van]

It never got over 36 here today, that might explain the lack of sap. These's maybe an inch in some pails, nada in others. O well, maybe next week?

[markct]

i got about 400 gal sap over this past week, actualy more than that since alot is still in ice sitting in the tanks. plan to boil saturday night we have some friends coming over to hang out. some of the stuff from early in the week got slightly yellow, altho not cloudy. looks like maybe a few warm days next week so hopefully we will get the season realy going, so far i have only collected about 1100 gal sap

[Mike Van]

There's no overflow here, not yet anyway. I must be in the icebox of Ct. here, I picked up 20 gal today from 50 taps. Most of it came from the smaller trees, my biggest haven't run yet. At 5:30 PM, it was already down to 30 & the ice was crunchy. No bare ground here, just some roofs, mostly because I shoveled them off 2 weeks ago. It'll come, always has. I'm so sick of winter - :evil:

[markct]

sunday actualy ran halfway ok for me here, still not great, but got about a half gal per tap on my vac lines it looks like. had a few troubles with the releaser check valve freezing up on me tho. hopefully this week will be the week it realy starts to run!

[valleyman]

hi Mark,
I had some of the off color sap as well. Nice and clear but yellowish off of some taps.

As you know, I'm boiling out of the rest.pans. I ran the level much deeper than last weekends boil probably 4-5" deep and Saturday's batch came out much much lighter. I was surprised how nice it came out. Wonder if it was I kept the scorch line higher up or if the sap had something to do with it.

Trees were running like crazy in Ansonia over the wekend.

[Maple1]

Valleyman
The yellow sap I found is right after rain and is from the water running down the bark and follows the tap into the bucket. Thats my thought. I toss any buckets that look questionable anyway. Sad but better safe than sorry.
We collected 80 gallons last night and was told the buckets where close to full today. Its going to be fun going around in the rain tonight.

[markct]

yea im on 100 percent tubing here, so dont think much rain gets in my tanks, all are well covered dairy tanks, and most are on vac so any leaks are easily noticed

[lafite]

Sap is running well today after the rain. I started a boil around 2:30 and will go until my 75 gallons is gone. I'll be ahead of last year after this boil! :D

[Mike Van]

I picked up the same as yesterday, leaving me well behind last year for Feb. I tried to make a swing around the outside edge of a 2 acre lot on my IH 574 today, these's a dozen trees there I can tap. I got a short ways, belly of the tractor was dragging through the snow [ice underneath] bad enough I gave up before getting stuck up there. Too much work to plow it, a few more days of melt, I should be able to make it. I walked out to 3 today I hadn't been to, wow, still breaking through up to my knees. My age was showing by the time I got there.

[markct]

i pumped the tanks of what ran sunday and monday, about 340 gallons total. its still running in good even late at night, hope the rest of the week runs well, but i see a few real cold nights so that will hamper it a bit im sure

[MAPLE247]

This is the real thing Maple247 Literally. We haven't shut down for 3 days and we still don't have anywhere to put the sap. 320 taps with a 240g. SS holding tank AND 400g. SS holding tank filled to the brim every night.
Gonna be picking up a blower tonight will see if it helps us catch up.

[Mike Van]

Good to hear someones drowning in sap - I'm still consistant here, 20 gal/day. Wow. I tried out some snowshoes today, should have done it 3 weeks ago. They make the walks so much easier. Anyday now [not thursday] the dam is going to break here, that sap is building up like magma down in the roots.

[swierczt]

Best run I think I've ever seen in Durham today! My lines from the sugar bush to the holding tank froze before I could get it all down close to the sugar house....was not planning to boil tonight anyway, but wow what a run of sap the last two days! Looking forward to a little freeze up!

[ctjim]

we had a great run the past 2 days as well here in lebanon/salem. tote tank at the sugarhouse is just about full. planning to finish boiling tomorrow.

[jcr1709]

Also running great this week in Middlefield. Running out of sap storage room since I can't boil until Fri. or Sat. Does leaving any "frozen sap" help to keep the sap fresh?

[Tanta K]

Sometimes we've left the frozen sap in the bucket instead of collecting as it'll stay that much fresher until the next day when we can boil. We have also brought it to the sugarhouse and as long as the temp that night stays 40 ro belowe we don't worry. If the temp goes to high though we have put it in 5 gallon buckets and packed them in ice in coolers! 29 taps...we usually can handle the flow. It's the last week we have a hard time.

Tanta K
Brooksvale Park Sugar Shack
www.brooksvale.org

[markct]

had another good day today, about 250 gal total, sap was running good but then as soon as dark came it got cold! we boiled a few hours, still have about 350 gal sap in the storage tank, plan to hold some till friday when some friends are coming over. hope the warmup over the weekend flows good too, the next couple days dont look like sap weather

[markct]

little vid of the sap coming in my vac tank manifold this afternoon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xo_XlYmf7Y&feature=player_embedded

[lafite]

great run today in Cheshire. 100 + gallons packed in snow.

Kirsten, Let me know if you need sap. I'd be happy to help donate to get you through your teaching sessions.

[Maple1]

Bethel sap was flowing great yesterday as well, today is going to be a different story. Ok it will give us time to catch up.

[MAPLE247]

Got a 100 gallons today, a break from the 200 we were getting morning and night these past few days. We'll be able to catch up on some sleep tonight.
Yesterday we collected from our biggest sugarbush like 110 taps i think, it filled our 210 truck tank to the top:).

[ctjim]

had another good day today, about 250 gal total, sap was running good but then as soon as dark came it got cold! we boiled a few hours, still have about 350 gal sap in the storage tank, plan to hold some till friday when some friends are coming over. hope the warmup over the weekend flows good too, the next couple days dont look like sap weather
we had a good begining to the week but it shut off, yesterday evening w/ the wind and cold. boiled up some last night and went to finish the 110 gal left tonight and the dang pipe from the sap tank to the evap was froze up. tried to unthaw it w/ the heat gun but no luck we took it apart and are letting it unthaw inside. hoping it will warm up enough tomorrow to thaw the tank fitting and elbow into the sugarhouse.

[Mike Van]

I'm hoping the coming rain & one night without freezing will finally loosen things up here, it has been pretty slow. Wed. I went up the road to a new place. tapped a dozen good size trees. Deep snow & ice there, just like here. I delivered a cord of wood yesterday to a place I was at in Dec, seemed like a lot longer, as this winter just goes on & on. Stupid groundhog.

[markct]

well so far this season hasnt been too bad for me compared to previous years, the new vac improvements seem to be paying off, am up to 29 gallons of syrup now, altho a bit darker than usual it seems

[Mike Van]

A lot of the ice around here is gone, finally - Good ridance. I had about 60/gal to boil off this morning, I think winter has finally let up here in Kent. There's a few [very few] spots of bare ground, something I haven't had since Christmas. This coming week looks good for sap, time will tell.

[ebourassa]

great runs here the last few days, picked up an boiled off 600, got about 32 gallons made out of 1600 gallons of sap., i was checking last years journal and i only had 1147 gallons and was done by 3/9/10. much better year this year than last. forcasts show tues thru thrusday run ahead.

[markct]

great weekend for sap! had about 350 gallons we boiled saturday night, had last pumped the tanks at 10pm and then today a 3 pm there was another 400 i pumped and boiled off, hope this keeps up for a while, but we gota get a freeze soon too!

[Mike Van]

The big thaw/rain event did help some of mine to get flowing, still the smaller trees are doing most of the production though. I guess thats one way buckets instead of tubing does, you can see whats running & what isn't. More rain coming soon, good ridance to some more ice & snow. I had a few places Sunday that were mudholes that were dry yesterday. I got a rod & pushed it down into the soil & sure enough the frost was gone there.

[markct]

it sure has been running here, boiled every day this week and still getting behind a bit. finaly today was so wore out i took a nap after work and then went and cleaned up my pan and did a few other minor things i been putting off, and pumped the 450 gallons that ran today out and put them in the tank in back of the sugarhouse, looks like i will be boiling the next few days and this weekend!

[Mike Van]

Finally, yesterday I had a more respectable run. A little over 60 gallons where I had 20 just a week ago. At dark last night, it was still running strong.

[DaveB]

Sounds like you guys are ready for business! I keep looking at the title and thinking someones not ready. Someone should update the title or start a new thread.

Getting good runs here in NE CT too and with the snow down, I may be able to finish getting all my taps in. Most are done, just have a few that I haven't been able to get to because of snow banks on the side of the road.

Dave

[Mike Van]

Yesterday morning, picked up 85 gal just 15 hours after the 60. Frost is coming back tonight, keep this party going! The heat off the front of the arch kills my eyes, I feel like I've been in a sandstorm instead of a fog bank. The steam was incredible yesterday, I'm surprised some passing car didn't call 911 and report a fire.

[markct]

im having a great, year! i boiled like crazy last night and all my storage tanks are filled to the brim, luckly it turns out a milk tank actualy holds a bit more than its rated capacity! there all full to within a half inch of the top, and still a bit in the woods tanks but should be room for todays runs. will be a busy guy boiling this weekend!

[valleyman]

Kickin' butt this year Mark! Glad to hear it.

Same here on a smaller scale down river from ya. I hate to admit it but it I can't handle much more.

[markct]

yea no kidding valleyman, i cant handle much more flow either! almost every tank i own is full to the brim, topped em off to like 1/4 inch from the top edge of the milk tanks!

[markct]

what a run the end of the week and weekend, havent been on here all weekend spent 35 hours boiling this weekend, went thru about 1800 gal of sap, and gave/traded another 250 of sap to a friend who is on gravity and short on sap. up to 83 gal syrup so far for the year, best season i ever had!

[Mike Van]

Way to go Mark - I'm looking for another frost or two, I'm worse off than last year, and that stunk - I'ts hard to believe all that cold weather, now it won't go below 32. Most of the snow is gone, still some in the shade & where there were big piles. I took the snowplow off the tractor, that usually makes it snow one more time.

[Mike Van]

24 degrees here in Kent this morning, looks like the start of a good one! This coming Sunday night is looking good too - Hang in there -

[markct]

yea good and cold here too this am, im hoping that keeps my red maple buds closed a few more days, accuweather shows a frost for later in week too, still have firewood left but getting low on kegs to put it in!

[Mike Van]

A good run yesterday, that was still going after dark here. I should have another batch to boil today. NOAA shows frost for tonight, so here's hoping they're right. I'm burning mostly pine & spruce slabs from my mill, I have enough to boil until May. Wishful thinking.

[markct]

yea im realy hoping the trees make it thru the 2 days of 60 degrees with no buds cause after that they show freeze and more sap days! would love to break that 100 gal mark for syrup, im at 90 right now

[Mike Van]

I had my best total of the season yesterday, picking up just 100 gallons of sap. It's 31 here at 6:00 AM, so maybe more today - ??? After Friday, NOAA shows frost for 3 or 4 nights, I have to 'hang in there' and see. If it should turn off cold again, the buds will stall out.

[Mike Van]

It was 102 in my sugarhouse yesterday afternoon, but it was boil or dump. There's frost coming tonight and for the next few nights too according to NOAA forecast. All my trees are still running as of yesterday.

[markct]

mine are all done mike, sap is buddy and cloudy, but made 105 gal syrup so i am calling it a good year for me!

[batsofbedlam]

I collected 500 gallons of 1.7% this morning. Not running today though. I'll keep boiling until the sap stops. CV's are a good investment.

[Mike Van]

Right now, I'm 40 gal/sap behind last year. Day off today, no frost last night. The rest of the week looks good though, right through the coming weekend. I lost 4 taps, due mostly to the hot day Friday, just stopped running. I boiled last night, the syrup tastes good, much darker than a week ago. Snow Thursday?

[markct]

yea i am still drawing a good bit of sap, just its all buddy, i had enough for this year, but a friend with a larger evaporator is going to take my buddy sap and make commercial syrup with it.

[Littlesap]

Vac is off, buckets are down, cleaning scheduled for this weekend. Bottled (almost) all I had left last night. Saving a little bit of bulk syrup to try coating walnuts and pecans but counting that I made about 15 gallons of syrup this year! By far the best of the three years so far.:D

[Mike Van]

Sap ran here yesterday - Odd, the temp was 29 in the morning, no frost though as it was clouded over with the 'not so big snowstorm' I boiled it off late, and it still tastes good. The week ahead looks to be good. I just hit my last years total. Thing is, I've tapped some 2 dozen more trees this year. I have lost about 6 taps since the hot day Friday.

[Mike Van]

A good run for me yesterday, boiled off 65 gal. last night. I swear the syrup is not as dark as Mondays was. The next few days look like my 'season saver' I've lost only a few taps, but some of the others are running more than they did a few weeks ago. 19 this morning here.

[cpmaple]

yesterday was the same here never got above 36 here and ran hard all day till sun went down going to gather this morning should have from what i checked on yesterday around 300 gallons on buckets and only 10 degrees here this morning in ny. Hoping for a good run today.

[lafite]

taps have been pulled and I get to watch the trees shed tears:cry: today!

[batsofbedlam]

Best day yet! 1200 gallons as of 8 pm. Looks good for tomorrow to.

[markct]

i pumped out almost 300 gallons today, froze hard last night! wish it wasnt buddy but it is what it is, its not going to waste tho a friend is making commercial syrup with it!

[Mike Van]

Another 40+ here yesterday, half ice in the buckets. I know some throw out the ice but I don't. I just set the chunks in the back of the evap & they're gone in 60 seconds. There has to be some sugar in that ice. Not one moth today. to cold for them I guess. My syrup has gotten lighter than a week ago, the buds that were coming out must have froze solid.

[Mike Van]

Yesterday was my best of this season. 100/gal of sap. This is the season saving week for me, today should be another good one. Seven taps taken out for not running. Many of them will run some more once the tap is pulled, I think it's where the tap seals the hole that doesn't get any air while the tap is in. Nice medium syrup right now.

[hodorskib]

Picked up 60 gallons off the 50 buckets still dripping yesterday. Started the year hanging buckets on February 13th in snow up to my thighs and I am now boiling in 45 temps with pouring rain. Will be pulling the plugs Saturday along with the final boil if the sap on the trees is not too cloudy. Last year 4 gallons made this year will be between 12.5 and 13 all light and medium except for one 2 1/2 gallon batch of dark. Not even thinking of holding out any longer - we will be out of wood and no complaints with the total for the year.

[Starting Small]

I was just emptying out some buckets of sap and heard the spring peepers, guess it is time to pull the plug!

[markct]

another 550 gallons today, sure seems those check valves are doing there job, just a shame the buds didnt hold up there end of the deal!

[Mike Van]

I just cleaned up from 8 days where I boiled off 550 gal/sap. Saved my season from a dismal one to within 25 gal/sap of my best a few years ago. I'm going to hold out for one more frost, tonight, or Sat or Sun. before I bag it. I've pulled a dozen or so taps from early Feb that had stopped running. I.m sure glad the weather people blew the storm forecast, I've seen enough snow 'till next year.

[markct]

looks like mine have finaly stopped flowing well for the year, still flowing but not as good, got about 6000 gals good sap this year, and around 3000 gal sap that made commercial syrup, crazy weather!!

[Mike Van]

One more frost, tonight I think Mark - That'll be it for me. Where do you go to sell the buddy syrup?

[markct]

bascoms is buying commercial for 2.00 a pound right now, so it still has value, not alot but usualy trade it towards more tubing etc for next season

[Mike Van]

I'm all done as of today, 30F last night but no frost. None coming either for at least a week. Took all taps are out, seems like yesterday there was over 3 ft of snow & I was dragging all this stuff out. I wound up with 1280 gal/sap, from about 75 taps. Feb. was too cold here, only 80 gal picked up. March, we had 6 or 7 in. of rain, a lot of cloudy, windy no frost nights. The last 8 days of March, I had 550 gal/sap, sort of saved the otherwise dismal season for me. Now I have to wash all this stuff.

[markct]

had a good freeze last night, gona turn on the vac pump today just to see what happens, was surprised to see 1/4 of an inch of ice on the pond this am!