new pipeline installed

[maple flats]

Today my wife and I went to a farm that has roadside sugars on a nice slope where I have gotten permission to tap. We installed the support wire and mainline except I need 100' more line. Will get soon and finish. Then I will put in the 5/16 lines and drops/taps. Then I will be ready on this spot. Should give good % sap, the trees run east west with a good open field on the south giving the best sun exposure. This spot will likely give me about 75 taps. I sure would like a setup like this with a few thousand taps, but I'll take what I can get. These trees are mature, the owner has a picture from about a hundred years ago and it shows the trees were mature then. They to his knowledge were only tapped for a few years back in the 1970's by a friend but he never did any syrup nor did his father before him. It'll be interesting to get the sugar % from the tank when I start collecting.

[Jay]

Crap, I wish I could get my wife to help, LoL. I just spent the last 3 weeks putting in 2 mains that total 800' and will have 220 or so taps. Its a great spot on a hill with full S/E sun. 50 of these taps are on a rock wall that boarder a field so they have good crowns. None of these trees have ever been tapped. Should be done by tue or wed. This is my first attempt at tubbing and working by myself took me a while. Let us know how those old maples run and test.

[MASSEY JACK]

Hey Dave, Didn't know you were getting into tubing. I've been trying to get mine first mainline attempt up and and ready. Seems like every weekend we have had poor weather to do anything. I have been cutting some big hickory trees on the edge of my new tubing plot before I can start the install. I hate cutting wood in the mud as you just spend too much time filing the chain. I even went out last night with a spot light and started stringing wire! Had to work half day today so could not take much advantage of the nice morning.
Went this afternoon and picked up two stainless bulk tanks. They are filthy so will have to spend some time this week cleaning them. I am so far behind I must be just getting ready for 2007!!! Sounds like your tubong spot has great potential. You will get hooked on tubing real fast.

Jack

[maple flats]

Jack, I've been on tubing for going on 4 seasons. This is the first time I was honored by her help on the outside labor. She did help on boiling for the first time in my new sugarhouse last year during the afternoon while I drove bus. The times before that when she helped boil I was on my back patio with a 1/2 pint trying to catch up when I had 80 gal of sap backup and only able to boil between 5-6 /hr depending on how often I fueled it. After that with the sugarhouse at the woods about 3 miles away she stayed home for the 04 season, but announced she wanted to help during any busier times in 05. 05 was poor enough for me that she only helped on 4-5 afternoons, but that did keep me from needing to boil til midnight. She does want to help this year and I will have about double the taps to keep up with but I do have a 415 gal milk bulk tank and am adding a UV to treat sap and even can run it thru again if stored longer. This should be a great season. Oh, my wife also says she enjoyed helping yesterday and wants to do it again if the weather is nice (she doesn't do bad weather since she was hit headon during a snowstorm, other car crossed centerline and she couldn't get out of his way (Dec 4, 1991) and almost died, was laid up for over 4 months before she could even get around without serious pain. This morning she did say her arm hurt where screws were put in to hold numerous pieces of bone in position to heal, she will not be allowed to PULL pipe nor CRIMP the connector sleaves I use for the wire that supports the pipe.
The buckets you picked up for me were for a few trees in my woods where I want to show people how the traditional collection was done and where the trees are spaced too far apart to make tubing cost effective. I will also have some at the farm where I just installed tubing that are right in the front of the farmhouse because that was the owner's request not to do tubing in the front yard.

[maple flats]

Finished putting the drops on, need to clean the tank and ready to tap the new spot. Ended up with 60 taps on good slope all roadside. Now I need to see if the owner will let me put up some buckets roadside in front of the house, he requested I not put pipeline there. If he says yes I should get at least another 25 taps and easy collection too. At another location I also redesigned a few while doing repairs from deer damage in my woods ( I think deer because a lot ot the chew marks look like a sort of sharp but wide and flat , not like teeth). These were cleaned last season with calcium chloride and rinsed well, still got chewed (I need to hunt more) Please clue me if this sounds like something other than deer.