Barker Road - 2011

[wally]

sap ran very well today. i'd estimate close to one gallon per tap. 100% gravity tubing system. probably was a "top five all-time" day in terms of sap run for our bush (35 years) - 144 taps more or less.

i'm sure the new mainlines are playing some role in the increased flow, but the good weather pattern and snowpack helps. although a little late in the season, i tapped the last line today - a short one with 30 taps. the sap was practically gushing out of the trees. i didn't start collecting from that line until after 3:30 this afternoon, yet still ended up with close to 10 gallons by 6:00.

red squirrel count is 5 down, gray squirrel count is 1 down.


didn't bother doing the more remote lines, since they're 25 minutes away from the sugar house, and the snow is still deep. those would add another 125 taps to the operation. we seem to skip them every 3 years or so.

looks like a good day to boil tomorrow.

wally

[Dill]

Wally you must have some special snow over in those hills. The sap is just starting to run now?

[wally]

oh, yeah. very special snow. it's still over a foot deep in the bush, and another 4" added today.

the bush in sutton always runs later in the season. it's all north and east slopes. with the snow cover, unfrozen ground with a lot of water, and perfect day/night temps, i could get a pretty decent year out of it, even with about half the normal number of taps.

we used to have around 70 buckets along the road, which were generally south-facing. however, we haven't done buckets since i was at unh, back in 1989.

actually, the bush in new london (that i'm not doing this year) is also north slope, and has a later run than "normal".

all in all, we seem to do ok for a small setup. although we don't produce prodigious quantities of syrup, we almost always produce 2/3 of our 35-year average. 2000 was the most recent really poor year, and i only produced 4 gallons. 1993 was our best season, with 31 gallons.

wally

[wally]

up to about 5 gallons so far. pretty much dark and b grades.

on the plus side, the sap is still at 2.4-2.5%. forecast seems ok.

[wally]

about 10 gallons now. sap holding at 2.4%. forecast looks good.

have enough wood to make another 10 to 12 gallons, if the weather cooperates.

[wally]

caught up to my sap last night, finished at 12:30. syrup total up to appx. 16 gallons. sap has been steady at 2.4 to 2.2%. didn't run friday or saturday, but it should run today, as temps dipped to about 27 overnight, and the forecast says mid-40s today.

the sap has remained pretty clear up to this point. wood supply looks like i can still squeeze out another 8 to 12 gallons if the sap comes.

[wally]

minimal run over the last 4 days. could be over in sutton. finished off just about every last drop of sap this afternoon, and made another 2 gallons of dark syrup. sugar content has held steady at 2.3 to 2.5 for the entire season. less than 40 gallons per gallon of syrup, which isn't bad for our operation. looks like i have between 15 and 18 gallons of syrup made, so i'm happy.

if it runs in the next few days, i'll boil it, since i've still got dry wood in the sugar house. otherwise, i'll be pulling taps on the weekend.

[wally]

pulled the tanks yesterday, and will be pulling taps on monday/tuesday, along with cleaning up the evaporator and other equipment. a really good year, over 20 gallons of syrup. if i'd tapped the other 150 or so from the new london lines, i'd be around 35 gallons.

sugar stayed above 2.2% for the entire season, which was great. it may be some time before another season like this comes around.

[tuckermtn]

good to hear things went well for you Tim...nice to have abundant sweet sap for the entire season...

Yep, I'll be lucky to see another season like this in my lifetime..

Like they say in Red Sox nation, this time with some optimism, "there is always next year..."