tapping in the catskills.

[mountainvan]

Collected 2,500 gals of sap this afternoon after a visit to the doctor. Found out I do have cancer again, no biggy, made it through last time will this time. Doctor is great planning the surgery by my weather prediction and sapflow thoughts. I may miss a day or two, but already lined up another producer to take any sap that flows. This weekend looks great, another sap tsunami.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van,

Your attitude is always amazing. Will pray you have a quick and speedy recovery.

[Super Sapper]

Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[sugarman3]

hope you kick it's *** again van,best of luck

[mountainvan]

Working on the 2nd barrel for today. New diaphragm pump on the filterpress is great. Have to get up in the woods tomorrow afternoon to fix tubing before the next big run this weekend.

[highlandcattle]

So sorry to hear this news of your health. Ron and I still remember that visit to your place. We're amazed at the work you do. Please know we're thinking of you. Please take care.

[sapman]

Van,

Your attitude is always amazing. Will pray you have a quick and speedy recovery.

That's probably why you always beat it. Mental attitude is HUGELY important I know. Thoughts and prayers for you.

[mountainvan]

you and Ron are welcome anytime.

[mountainvan]

1,500 gals sap collected tonight so tanks don't overflow. Lots of tubing pulled apart by Bigfoot I guess. Darn drop lines keep sliding off the cv2. Those things need barbs. Sap is flowing hard tonight and I should be over 400 gals of syrup by Monday.

[Ghs57]

Way to go, Van!

[mountainvan]

Pulled in over 4000 gals of sap since Saturday night. Yesterday filled a couple barrels and was feeling fine. Last night was a bit tough, guess I may have over done it, but back to it this morning. For some darn reason I just don't know when to quit.

[mountainvan]

Collected 4,750 gals today and made 94 gals of syrup. Best single boil total ever for me. Surgery is tomorrow morning so no sap,reports from me for awhile.

[sugarman3]

Best of luck with your surgery van

[Riverdale]

Good Luck Van! Thoughts and prayers for quick healing

[mountainvan]

7,000 gals sap processed Sunday and Monday to 158 gals of maple syrup. Got through the surgery today and hanging in the hospital for the night. This coming weekend looks good for sap. I have a couple days to rest before then.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Praying for you buddy, I know this isn't your first battle with cancer and your attitude helps a ton get through battles like this.

[maple flats]

My prayers are with you. May you conquer it this time!

[mountainvan]

Much better today, just waiting to be released. I'll take a couple days to reset then big sap come Sunday! Switched out my oberdorfer pump for an aro diaphragm pump just in time. Now to get some spare tanks at the saphouse.

[mountainvan]

Two days after surgery I was back in the woods collecting sap and roing it, I'll boil tomorrow. Most of the run I gave to another producer, he started the vac pumps in thunderstorms. To the doctor today to find out what the plan is for the next couple months.

[mountainvan]

Bad news from the doctor today. Cancer is worse than before. I'll be able to sugar till April then it's a tough road for awhile. Tomorrow it's back to work and concentrate on filling barrels.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Still praying for you Van.

[highlandcattle]

You've got lots of people sending good thoughts your way. Don't push yourself too hard. We're thinking of you.

[mountainvan]

Thanks guys. First full day back to the farm getting ready for the next big run. Trying to work smart and conserve my energy.

[mountainvan]

100+ gals made so far this run. Time for some beer and a nap while the ro does its job, then back to boiling.

[mountainvan]

5,100 gals sap collected today. Been boiling since 9am and almost on to my 4th barrel of the day. Tomorrow I sleep, all day!

[stimyg]

What do you think about the weather this upcoming week - think the trees will start to bud / our season end? Usually the end of my season is April when I realize it's obviously over.

[mountainvan]

I don't think the season is anywhere close to done. A couple days in the 60's may slow down the flow, but it will get cold again. I am using the antimicrobial spiles which help keep the sap flowing. I'll be over 1,000 gals by midweek, then the rest is bonus.

[mountainvan]

Feeling much better after a couple days rest. Cleaning everything tomorrow to get ready for the biggest run yet!

[stimyg]

Glad you're feeling better. That's great to hear.

Thanks for the advice. Put in my last taps this weekend. I'm just a hobbyist so it goes according to when I can get to it.

About the anti microbial spiles - any particular brand/kind you like? I'd like to get some.

[mountainvan]

You can get the antimicrobial spiles from cdl, bascoms, or catskill mountain maple. Pulled in 2,200 gals sap this evening, ro is knocking it down. Lost 200 tapped trees today. Logger on adjacent property did his own surveying, and moved the property line 200 ft into trees I had tapped. Property owner doesn't want to pay for a real survey, so she and I get screwed. I just pulled my tubing today and said frack it. I have enough to deal with now and don't need a fight with a dishonest logger. Some days you win, most days you don't.

[maple flats]

Were those trees on leased land or your land? If your land, after the season you may want to pursue it. There are laws against that and penalties are high. However you'd need a survey. If it was on a lease, if the landowner won't get a survey (and lose some logging income) you are S.O.L.

[saphound]

Geez, I sure wouldn't take a loggers word for where the line is. Sounds like it's not mtvan's fight, but those trees could be gone forever if the logger is wrong. Seems like the adjacent owner should have it surveyed if there's a dispute. Have they started cutting yet, Van?

[mountainvan]

Not my property, so not my fight. Pretty sure trees are already gone. I put a 4 gal gas tank on my biggest bush yesterday, so it running 24/7 will more than make up for the lost trees. Pulled in 3,500 gals sap so far this run and saps pouring in! Should be over 800 by tonight.

[jerzeemaple]

200 feet seems like an awefully big discrepancy for the location of the property line.
Is there any evidence of a property line, old blazes, stonerows, piles of stones in line, old wire fence, monuments, or something resembling property lines or occupation out there that might be called out in the deeds? I'd be pretty upset if someone cut my trees! I know a few surveyors in that neck of the woods (margaretville area), if the landowner wants to pursue a boundary send a PM and I can provide contact info.

[mountainvan]

3,000+ gals sap today. Saphouse is getting full of full barrels. Staying out of the logger stuff, just trying to get some sap.

[mountainvan]

Still going with 2,500 gals sap today. Closing in on 1,000 gals syrup for the year. Weather looks promising to keep going for another week or two.

[mountainvan]

Just over 1,000 gals sap today. Trees have shut down for now. I have a couple days to clean everything before the season continues with a freeze Friday night.

[mountainvan]

19 degrees last night, 38 this afternoon and sap was flowing. I'm not done yet!

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

That's great, hope and pray your health is holding up too. Great attitude and that mountain air has to help. Hoping some of that cold air is coming this way tonight and tomorrow night. Been colder last 3 nights, just not enough to get the sap going yet, around freezing.

[mountainvan]

Alamo gas vacuum pump

[mountainvan]

3,000 gals sap collected so far today. With everything cleaned last week, grade went up to light.

[stimyg]

I'm seeing a few more freezing nights in my area next week. You think think this season will keep going...?


3,000 gals sap collected so far today. With everything cleaned last week, grade went up to light.

[highlandcattle]

You're amazing! Keep on going. Hope you're feeling better and trying to take some breaks. Ron is still getting some from our trees. Strange year,again

[mountainvan]

5,000+ gals this run. Top of the hill is still running, gas it up to run out of gas at 9pm. I expect my higher bushes will go through the week, if so I could have a record year. Time to go boil.

[mountainvan]

Another barrel today, 26 tonight so I should continue.

[mountainvan]

Still getting sap from three sugarbushes. Collected around 1,000 this morning and boiling now. Grade is very dark and flavor is excellent.

[highlandcattle]

OK so what's your total sap and gallons at this point? Ron redrilled some taps today. Gone past our all time high. Hell be able to look tom. Hope you're feeling OK to keep going like this. Take care out there. We' re thinking of you.

[mountainvan]

Not sure on the sap, but syrup is 1,125 gals. 11 gals behind last year, but sap is still coming in. Just very slowly. Tomorrow should be my last boil. I've already started cleaning up and have till April 11 to get it done. Of course next week is really cold, but I could use a little break. Maybe I'll see you at toms.

[mountainvan]

Done for the year. 1,137 gals made. Glad I tapped early, but pissed I missed the biggest run of the year because of my cancer surgery. ****ing ****hole cancer. Yes, those were not good words!

[Ghs57]

Maybe not good words, but the right words.

[mountainvan]

Started up with the doctors again. Seems It's a little more serious than I thought after more test results came in. Next week I'll know what I'm in for.

[jimsudz]

Hoping for the best for you. Keep positive,and God bless

[mountainvan]

Some good news this week, catscan was clear. Had a little procedure yesterday, hence me not being out in the woods or on the lake. Starting chemo soon to try and make sure I'm done with cancer. Working on switching from wood to oil. Wish I knew how to weld and cut steel.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Van, great to hear the good news. Will keep praying for you and you keep fighting hard. I'm in the process of switching from wood to oil After boiling on wood for 25+ years.

[highlandcattle]

Glad to have met up with you and your wife at Toms. A nice visit. Wishing you well for your chemo. That's tough. You're in our thoughts. Be strong.

[mountainvan]

First round of chemo was draining, but not horrible. A week on and I'm back at work selling maple syrup.

[mountainvan]

1/2 through chemo. Tougher than I thought it would be. Making maple syrup for 72 hrs straight is easier and a lot more fun.

[Super Sapper]

Keep up the fight we are all pulling for you an have you in our prayers.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Still praying for you buddy, appreciate the great attitude you always have even in midst of such adversity.

[mountainvan]

I received the results from my latest ct scan and it came back clear! Still lots of Doctor stuff but now I'm starting to plan for next year. May even add more taps!

[Super Sapper]

Great news.

[mountainvan]

Finished chemo and back on the mend. I will be around for more sugaring seasons.

[BAP]

That's great to hear.

[mountainvan]

Back in the woods running more tubing in promised land 2. Oil conversion to evaporator is coming along, hope to have it done by December. feels great to be done chemo and getting my strength back.

[mountainvan]

Got results from my latest scan, once again no cancer! Starting to tap next week!

[lyford]

Congrats mv, that's great news, enjoy your time in the woods!

[BAP]

Congratulations you must be ecstatic with those results. Good luck with tapping and enjoy your time in the woods.

[maple flats]

Prayers do get answered, congratulations.

[Windy Acres]

Great news! Glad to hear it!

[sugarman3]

That is great news to hear van

[mountainvan]

Started tapping today with 600 in. Starting on another bush tomorrow with 800 taps. I expect good sapflow starting tomorrow afternoon through Friday afternoon, maybe 3,000 gals of sap or more. My test tap was 2.2% sugar last week, so the trees are ready.Plan on getting the RO and its feed tanks set Thursday and first boil Friday. Then back to tapping the other 3,000+.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

Fantastic news. Back to living life the way it was meant to be lived.

[mountainvan]

Off to a good start, 1,000 gals of sap in the ro tanks and another 1,000 in the woods and sap is still flowing. First boil tomorrow morning.

[Windy Acres]

Great start!

[mountainvan]

Ended up with 2,500+ gals from 1,000 taps. Ran from Wednesday afternoon till Friday am. Sweetened the pans and made 25 gals of maple. Back to tapping next week, along with collecting and boiling. Having fun getting back in the maple rhythm. Got a $19 diaphragm pump for the trees around the house, it worked great pulling 15" of vacuum.

[mountainvan]

Another 500 taps in today with a little sapflow.

[mountainvan]

2, 500 taps in for this flow and 4,000 gals of sap collected so far. Filling some barrels is very nice in January.

[mountainvan]

Forth run of 2017 is over with 5,400 gals of sap. Over 100 gals of syrup made so far. Looks to run again Wednesday thru Thursday then a break in boiling to finish tapping.

[mountainvan]

Still going with the January syrup. Should be over 200 by end of this boil. 34 degrees and blowing, but sap is still flowing. Back to tapping next week.

[highlandcattle]

So glad to hear you're doing good OK. An early start with this crazy weather. Waiting to go get our barrel from Tom. Waiting on some property we're trying to buy. Should know soon. Need to be back in the country. Hope to see you. Take care

[mountainvan]

I was at Toms Monday getting jugs and stuff. Lots of empty barrels in the barn, yours is probably in there. Back to tapping today, slow going with snow on top of ice.

[mountainvan]

Another 1,000+ taps in today. Snowshoes are now a must to get around the woods. Only another 1,000 or so to go, then start adding more taps.

[mountainvan]

Nice run Wednesday, 2,000 gals in 1/2 a day. Boiled today and filled another barrel with some left for jugs. Still have 1,000 taps to set, should have them done this week.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping today, put in only 100 in 2.5 hrs. A foot of snow on top of ice made for a very treacherous time on the steep side of the McKinley hollow. Getting down was easy, snowshoes became skis. Sap flowed enough in a couple bushes to warrant collecting. Lots of ice in my tanks which is a pain now, but will keep the sap cooler when it warms up this weekend. Looks to be great weather starting Saturday for some big flows.

[Ghs57]

Going to try to catch the weekend flow. Still have a long list of things to do. Why is that the case every year?

[mountainvan]

That's why I put a couple thousand taps out in January, get all the Apollo 13 moments done before the big flows.

[mountainvan]

A 50ish year old man should not do a split while sliding down a steep mountain on snowshoes. Drilled some more holes today and had to stop due to aforementioned split slide and the sap was flowing! Boiling again tomorrow. Tonight some wine with my whine.

[mountainvan]

Since last post have pulled in over 15,000 gals of sap and made 350 gals of syrup. Playing keep up with the trees.

[mountainvan]

25,000 gals of sap this week gets me over 600 gals of syrup for the year so far. washed tanks and releasers after collecting this morning, then turned the vac pumps back on. Saps been flowing nonstop since Tuesday.

[sapman]

Wish I had the kind of sugar you do, Van! I started at 1.4, down to 1.1. And my soft maples are budding. Never thought I'd see that in February! A little over 600 for me so far, too.

[mountainvan]

2/3 crop in after last week. weather looks great for the next week at least. Back to tapping Monday morning to get a couple hundred in before the sap starts in the afternoon.

[mountainvan]

4,000 gals sap in this morning. Going to boil it down then go get more sap!

[mountainvan]

81% of my normal crop is in. Still pulling a gallon or more of sap per tap in a day from trees tapped in January. Cold and snow till next weekend, which means I'll be getting cabin fever by Sunday.

[Ghs57]

You deserve a rest. Enjoy it.

[mountainvan]

Bottling syrup Monday, bent over to pick something up..... Big boom goes my back. Just in time for the blizzard. Cleared snow in Woodstock yesterday and at the farm today. Still have to dig out all my tanks. No pain no gain. 3 ft of snow at the farm, maybe 4ft in the upper sugarbushes. This snow should keep me going into April.

[mountainvan]

Sap started back up today, bushes tapped in January ran the best. Took a couple hours to fix leaks, but got everything over 20". Tanks at the saphouse are clean, tanks in the woods are pretty much buried snow. Tomorrow clean the evaporator and get sap in the evening.

[Kelly Wells]

Tapped President's Day 2/20 - 200 taps on the Mountaintop. Same tap date as in 2015, and 2016 when we got 4 colors. This year all dark. In a deep freeze right now with all buckets under 3-4 feet of snow. Can't even get to the buckets, even with snowshoes. Hoping the next week will bring another run. Thinking maybe we needed to tap very early Feb. if we were to get lighter product.

[mountainvan]

Still going strong in the Oliverea valley. Freezing rain today kept the upper trees frozen, but lower bushes ran well enough for 1,250 gals of sap. Only 150 gals from best year, looks like this year will take the prize.

[mountainvan]

Another 3,000 + gals of sap since yesterday late morning. Sugar is still 1.7% in the sap and syrup is a nice dark Amber. Freezing rain in the upper bushes so not much going on today other than boiling. Antimicrobial spiles are doing their job well this year. Still getting sap from trees tapped in January.

[stimyg]

Where'd you get your antimicrobial spiles, or what kind are they? I wanted to get some but couldn't find anything that seemed right.

[highlandcattle]

Let us know when you'll be at Toms open house. Sounds like a great year for you. Take care

[mountainvan]

Antimicrobial spiles can be bought from tom Kaufman at catskill mountain maple in DeLancey,ny.
Brought in another 3,200 gals this morning! Another day or two and that should be it. Maybe. Highland I'll let you know about toms.

[Ghs57]

That's pretty amazing production with all the variables we have had this year. I don't have a drop running on any tap now. There all coming out tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

Another 2,600 gals of sap in this morning. That's it for me this year. Had some fermentation in the line from the ro to the back tank, and once that starts...... Cleaned the line and am boiling good sap now. Best year for me, which is great after last year and not knowing if I would be back sugaring. Already making plans for expansion next year! Good luck to everyone still going.

[Kelly Wells]

We are traditionally 3 weeks behind you here on the mountaintop. Snowing here right now but expect to collect tomorrow morning. I have maybe 350 gallons in tanks plus whatever we get tomorrow. The weather looks too warm for the next three or four days. Might be it. My notes say we dumped our buckets and pulled our taps on 4/7 last year so I guess this 'end of season' more closely matches what we had in the past, as the 'start' which I think we MISSED. All good. Next year we will tap very early Feb - 3 weeks after YOU!

[maple flats]

I'll find out if I'm still going a little later this morning. Right now I have 31F at my house, could be a little colder at 900' higher elevation. I pumped the lines to empty yesterday and dumped the spoiled sap, then I washed the tank. Today and tomorrow are possible for me but maybe not real promising. If I do get some to boil it may well be very dark.

[mountainvan]

Snow at my farm this morning, but still done. Finished what was in the evaporator and started cleaning up.

[maple flats]

I pulled 260 gal yesterday. Will continue today and tomorrow morning will be my last sap pickup.

[DrTimPerkins]

Best year for me, which is great after last year and not knowing if I would be back sugaring. Already making plans for expansion next year!

That's great to hear on all counts.

[Kelly Wells]

We are at 2200' and we were able to collect 150 gallons on Saturday. We were below freezing Saturday night so will check in a little bit for what I'm pretty will be our last collection. Will boil all and start the clean up......Running back and forth between the wood splitter, the evaporator and greenhouse. Started tilling yesterday. I think we started a little late for this year's run, even though it was the same day on the calendar, but we had our best year as well! Bottled right around 70 gallons. Am thinking about running some tubing to collection tanks from the trees farthest off the trial. Getting older and this snow makes collecting difficult, especially when the ATV can't get through the sugar bush and I am forced to use a custom sled that fits only 8 5 gallon buckets at a time. Will be asking questions of you all when I get that tubing going.

First question - 5/16" tube for main line and 3/16" to trees?

[Kelly Wells]

Want to know your TAP date next year....I'm gonna be 3 weeks behind you....Maybe

[mountainvan]

I don't know when I'm tapping next year! Still cleaning up from this year. I'm going to have to just pull the taps under vacuum and not walk the woods with the backpack sprayer. Chemo port is in the way of the strap and it hurts carrying around 30lbs. I should give a big thanks to my friend Jay for the extra sap at the end of the season.

[mountainvan]

After a nice little vacation to Savannah I'm back cleaning up. One bush done 5 to go.

[mountainvan]

I'll be at toms around 10. I have two pallets of glass coming in.

[mountainvan]

It was nice seeing folks at the catskill maple open house. took today off to go fishing, first real outing since 2015. Caught over 20 big bass in a couple hours. Back to cleaning up tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

Started getting ready for the 2018 season doing some fall flushing and tubing repair. My trees are in good spirits and had a great summer.

[mountainvan]

Getting close to go time, only 38 days until I plan on starting to tap. Been busy replacing drops and spouts, clearing trees off of lines, and repairing bear damage. Plus adding more taps. Getting another post for my ro to speed that up and make more syrup. I heard that one farm is already tapping and getting sap.

[mountainvan]

More than 6 years after Irene the damaged store next to my farm was torn down yesterday. Now I have a great view on all sides.

[mountainvan]

Put out my test tap yesterday, sap was flowing but only 1.3% sugar. Most of my woods are ready to tap, only one more bush to walk. I got good news today from Doctor 1, no new cancer. More tests next week, but feeling positive for next year.

[maple flats]

Van, glad to hear your Dr report and it must seem nice having that mess next door gone. Have a great season.

[Windy Acres]

That's great news! It won't be long and it will be on, I wish I could say I was ready, but we are getting there!

[mountainvan]

Started tapping yesterday in my steepest sugarbush. I figure the rain on Friday will turn the mountain into a luge run and make it too dangerous to go up for awhile. Maples tapped on the sunnyside were flowing by 2pm. Pretty much ready to make maple except for another 4,000 Holes to drill!

[gbeneke]

Waited this last warm spell out but tapping this week for next warm up next weekend. if any water got through the frost it should help production, it has been dry this fall. Good luck to all this season.

[mountainvan]

Had my chemo port out Friday, no hospital now till June! Back to tapping later this week and hopefully boiling Next Sunday. Steep bush is almost done, then the rest should go quickly.

[Kelly Wells]

My plan was to tap earlier than I have been the last couple of years by watching when you all start. It's still SO cold up here on the mountain top in Haines Falls. Close to zero much of the time. It did hit 60 Friday and it looks like it will be warmer later this week (40 - 45) but really cold in between. How long do the taps stay viable between warm episodes? Don't want them to heal over. We have 100 buckets with 2 taps each downhill from the sap house and have recently run two main lines with laterals and 100 or so drops from up behind the sap house directly to the tank.

https://www.facebook.com/Haines-Farm-219700278379464/?timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=100011265285742&pnref=lhc

[mountainvan]

All of my taps are either antimicrobial, new spouts and drops, or clear check valve. As long as there is not a stretch of 70 degree weather they will flow well into April. The tree won't start to heal over until the after the season. The main reason the sap stops flowing is microbes clogging the wood. You can use the antimicrobial spouts with buckets. Just put the hanger on the spout and a short piece of tubing to go into the bucket. Sap was flowing Thursday with a sugar % of 1.4.

[Kelly Wells]

Ha! No chance of a 70 degree stretch! Thanks. From your experience how far into the season does the sugar content start to approach the 2% mark?

[mountainvan]

My experience says you never know. Every year is different. I'm expecting a lower sugar % this year due to the large sead crop on the maples last year, but I could be wrong. Ask me in May, then I'll know.

[Kelly Wells]

My experience says you never know. Every year is different. I'm expecting a lower sugar % this year due to the large seed crop on the maples last year, but I could be wrong. Ask me in May, then I'll know.

lol. Like the acorns...Hind sight is 20/20! We will see.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping after last Friday's surgery. My dewalt 20 volt drill was easier on my body than the bosch 36 volt tap monster. Crampons were a must on the mountain. Temperature started at 5 and went up to a blazing 20. Hopefully I'll be all tapped by next weekend.

[mountainvan]

First sap of 2018 in the tanks. Spent most of the day fixing leaks from squirrels, deer, bear, coyotes, and possibly Sasquatch.Tomorrow back to tapping. Weather looks good for the next couple of days for sapflow.

[BAP]

:o
First sap of 2018 in the tanks. Spent most of the day fixing leaks from squirrels, deer, bear, coyotes, and possibly Sasquatch.Tomorrow back to tapping. Weather looks good for the next couple of days for sapflow.
What! No Abominable Snowman damage??:o

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

I totally agree with Van on the Dewalt drills. The 20V Dewalt XR are the best tapping drill I've ever used, lightweight and compact. The XR series is a much higher quality drill then the Max line of dewalt stuff. I like the 2.0 amp hour batteries too as they don't add a lot of weight vs the 4.0, 5.0 or 6.0 amp hour batteries. The XR batteries hold up well in cold temps too. The belt clip on the drill is a huge bonus too for tapping.

[mountainvan]

Spent today tapping, setting up a vacuum station, and generally enjoying being a maple farmer. I should have full tanks in two sugarbushes tomorrow. I'm ready to go till May!

[mountainvan]

Ready to make some maple tomorrow. Ro tanks are full with still more sap in the woods tanks, and it's still flowing. Only glitch for today was my ro's breaker tripped with the 2nd post plugged in. Guess I need to upgrade a component. Still three more sugarbushes to tap, but with the snow gone should be easy going.

[mountainvan]

Made some maple syrup today! Nice to be on my own again without anyone hanging around costing me money and causing me aggravation. Good start to the year.

[mountainvan]

Went up to St Albans yesterday to get my ro tip top and ready for tomorrow's sap run. Finished another bush today and will start on the forth tomorrow. Everything is falling into place nicely this year. I'm really enjoying having to just maple this year.

[mountainvan]

brought in around 5,000 gals of sap in the last couple of days. so far so good. New post on my ro now let's me go from 1.5 to 12.5 in one pass.

[Kelly Wells]

Tapping on the mountain top - 1/27, 28...finished insulating the sap house on Sat/Sun (tired of freezing while boiling) while our kids tapped ALL the trees in both the sanctuary (200 buckets) and up behind the sap house (100 taps - first year with tubing!). LOVE gravity. What a sound - sap just pouring into the tank. Three hundred gallons of sap in 24 hours before the temp dropped and stayed there. I'm excited to have tapped in January!

[mountainvan]

Tapped some more yesterday and got enough sap to make some nice ice blocks in the tanks.

[maple flats]

Van, how many taps you looking to get this year? Your numbers in the past were inspirational.

[mountainvan]

Still somewhere around 4,000 taps. This year I added more trees, but removed some taps on larger trees to tap more conservatively. I need to buy some more tanks for in the woods so I don't have any overflows. Walking up to full tanks is great, but also a little disconcerting. If I was held up at the house or another bush I'd have sap on the ground and not in my wallet.

[mountainvan]

Back to tapping yesterday till the snow and wind picked up . Pretty close to whiteout at 2,500 ft with Little snow at 1,500.

[mountainvan]

Finished tapping my upper bush today. One more to go then I'm all in. Weather is looking good for sap starting this weekend. Time to fill barrels so I can go fishing this summer.

[mountainvan]

Finished tapping today and sap is flowing! Time to fill some barrels.

[mountainvan]

Pulled in 5,000 gals of sap the past two days. Boiled today and filled two barrels and 12 gallon jugs. Best start to the season in 24 years. Weather forecast looks fantastic for some more big days. 3/16 bush did not disappoint with fuel tanks a day after I finished tapping it.

[mountainvan]

Went well over 200 gals of syrup for the year today. Brought in 3,200 gals of sap for 62 gals of syrup. Surpassed last year to date. So far I'm keeping up with the sap, vacuum leaks, vacuum pump repair, bottling syrup, etc. already collected 1,200 gals this evening so tanks have room for tonight's sap. Having a great time this year being a solo maple mountain man.sometimes more help is less help than no help.

[mountainvan]

Pumps ran for three days straight pulling in over 10,000 gals of sap for me to turn into 200 gals of syrup. Today I deliver some syrup and stock up on supplies for next weeks big run. Seems we're back to the three day gush then a day or two break. I'm jealous though reading others have sugar at over 3% while mine is 1.6%. Once again eternal vigilance payed off with checking the pumps before bed, one releaser the ball got sucked up and blocked vacuum. Had I not caught it I would have had 9,000 gals sap.

[highlandcattle]

Congratulations. Sounds like youre doing great. You must be feeling good. Just be careful on the steep hills. Ron is putting up a few buckets on the trees in the yard. We tried so hard to find a place with some trees. No luck. Im sure the neighbors will be mystified. Take care

[mountainvan]

6,000 gals in today and sap is still pouring in. 100 gals of syrup so far and back to boiling after a midnight collection.

[mountainvan]

Over 12,000 gals of sap in 2 1/2 days. Filled quite a few barrels! Worked from 6am to 2 am just to keep up.Tomorrow is clean tanks, then more sap Saturday! I'm having such fun this year.

[mountainvan]

Cleaned the woods tanks just in time for new sap flow tonight. Boiling again tomorrow!

[mountainvan]

Getting into a bit of a rhythm now. Collecting a couple thousand gals of sap at night. Collect again early. Then make 60-100 gals of syrup. Keeping up with all the little things has helped the season go smoothly so far and appeases the sap gods. This coming week looks great. I'll probably break the 1,000 make. I've got some high quality help coming, so things should be laid back.

[mountainvan]

After two good freezes at night the sap is clearing and the sugar has gone up. Brought in over 4,000 gals sap today. Everything is working as it should, including me.

[GeneralStark]

Good luck with this snowstorm. It looks like your area could get over 2 feet if the models are accurate. Hopefully it is not too heavy and damaging...

[mountainvan]

Finished another 40 gals yesterday before battening down for the storm. Just rain at the house in Woodstock, I'll find out tomorrow what the storm did. I got reports of 3+ ft of snow and high winds. Hopefully not too many lines down in the woods. Luckily I have great help this week.

[mountainvan]

Lots of trees down along the roads, but not too many in the woods. Spent a decent amount of time with the chainsaw.

[mountainvan]

Still clearing branches and trees off of lines. Two bushes down three to go. No sap for a week now and cold is expected to Continue, plus possibly another big snow Monday.

[maple flats]

We only had 24" of snow, but it was so heavy that it took down more trees, tops and limbs than any other storm in my 15 years doing maple. The first day after I cleared about 85% with just my excavator with a thumb. With that I just picked the trees , tops and limbs, turned the cab where I could and set them on the ground out of the way. I did have one large tree (red maple) that was uprooted and fell across the lesser used portion of the circular drive into my sugarhouse, that was tackled on day 2, after I removed 2 tops on lateral lines I couldn't get to with the excavator.

[mountainvan]

Must be nice to be able to use a machine to clear trees. My bushes are a bit too steep. Still cleaning up but should be done before the taps turn back on.

[mountainvan]

I started getting some messages asking if I'm ok since I have not posted in awhile, and I am. Fixing tubing from the monster storm of March 2nd, then getting my maple mojo back, and then refreshing lots of tap holes left me little time for anything else but work,beer, and sleep. I think I'm still married? Sap started back up and I'm now up to 1,200 gals of finished syrup. I hope to go till April 20th and with the mountains still snow covered it is a possibility. Good luck to those still going.

[Sugar Bear]

Yea ... I noticed yesterday from 60 miles southwest in the Hudson Highlands ... from Ninham fire tower ... that the southern slopes of the Catskills are still all white .... please report back in with your last sap collection date.

[Sugar Bear]

I noticed yesterday from 60 miles southeast not southwest.

[mountainvan]

My trees are starting to quit on me, but only my small bushes. Sap flowed well from my upper bushes and was 2% sugar. Boiling again tomorrow. Next couple of days may be the end of a very difficult season. Cancer was bad, but three feet of wet heavy snow with 50mph winds was more work!

[mountainvan]

Had a couple spare hours so I refreshed my upper bushes this week, 2,000 taps roughly, and has it paid off. Another 4 barrels filled that would still be empty. Went back up to Amber today too. We have a winter weather advisory this weekend and buds are tight. Guess I have another week of sugaring. I love my job being a mountain maple man.

[Ghs57]

Way to go Van. I pulled my taps this week, but half the lines were still movings, however slowly. Some 3/16 line were till pulling 25+". Nothing budding anywhere. I heard the peepers last night. Some say that's a sign.

[mountainvan]

still going in the Catskills with snow still falling and sap flowing well in the upper bushes. Had to go and buy more barrels today!

[maple flats]

Needing more barrels is a good thing.

[mountainvan]

Another 26 gals today, not quite a barrel. Sap flowed well today so back to it tomorrow. I may have to get out my 55 gallon drums if this keeps up. Still cleaning tanks and chasing leaks. Due diligence this year.

[mountainvan]

To cold on Friday for much sap but flowed well yesterday, so I'll be boiling today. 25 this morning so I go till Monday if the sap stays good.

[mountainvan]

Another 45 gals made today. Tomorrow will be my last sap collection of 2018. Even with almost no sap in March, this was my best production in 24 years of sugaring.

[georgelineman]

Wow that's GREAT news Van. I was at a family wedding this weekend with your friend Phil K. and he sends his regards. I was telling him how it's funny that you had posted you had made 1,200 gallons of SYRUP a few days back and I collected 1,224 gallons of SAP for the season. what a difference . But it was my best year ever also. Just over 20 gallons of syrup. tubing made the difference. I am a happy hobby producer. And I see Woodstock Matt is making some big improvements for next season! Good for him!
george

[maple flats]

Van, please let us know your final total when all is said and done, I and many other are interested.
Dave

[mountainvan]

Sorry, I was wrong. Three words that every wife likes her husband to say, constantly! Last night low of 25 and sap is coming in today, so last boil tomorrow. I will end up with around 1,500 gals of finished syrup.

[mountainvan]

1,472 is the total unless I find a bonus barrel in October. I had a couple really long days that I may have filled a barrel and not written it down. Happens almost every year.

[highlandcattle]

You worked really hard. Congratulations. Will we be seeing you at Toms?

[maple flats]

Impressive to say the least.
Now take a few days and go fishing, you earned it. You may also want to check in to see if you are still married too.

[mountainvan]

Day off? Too much to clean up before that happens. I will be at Toms probably late morning.

[mountainvan]

6 month cancer check came back clear! Now to go fishing for big northern pike.

[DrTimPerkins]

6 month cancer check came back clear! Now to go fishing for big northern pike.

Very good to hear. Happy for you. ;)

[maple flats]

That is great news. Now I'm looking for the same report for me in November. But then I'll go hunting not fishing.

[mountainvan]

I’ve been busy in the woods getting ready for 2019. It will be my 25th year making and selling maple syrup. Doctors test came back no cancer again!

[Sugarmaker]

Awesome news! Good luck on your maple season!
Regards,
Chris

[maple flats]

Great, I also got my test results, I'm cancer free too. Feels good doesn't it?

[Windy Acres]

Great news you guys!

[BAP]

Awesome news. Congratulations now you can look forward to the upcoming season.

[DrTimPerkins]

Nice to hear you're both doing well.

[dblact38]

That's fantastic news great to hear you both are well

[mountainvan]

Started tapping this week. Hope to be all done for the first flow.

[highlandcattle]

Great to hear you and Dave are dpung so good. Congratulations!. Be careful out there on thpse slopes!. Ron will be tapping asap. We are down to 2 pints of front lawn syrup and blending with our farm stash.

[mountainvan]

Finished another sugarbush today and sap was starting to flow. I should get a couple good runs this week and start filling some barrels.

[Kelly Wells]

Just hammered in the last nail on the tongue and groove covering the new insulation in the sap house. I'm all about incremental improvement. 100 taps on lines up behind the house and 100 or so buckets in the sanctuary down the road need to go in next. I have been reading various threads regarding cleaning vs always using new taps. I have been cleaning...your thoughts?

[mountainvan]

For the most sap new spout and drop, or antimicrobial spout and old drop. Filled a couple barrels this week. Back to tapping tomorrow.

[Kelly Wells]

Did anyone test their sap from yesterday? Mine is reading over 3?! My water tests at zero so I'm thinking its accurate.

[Pancake Hollow]

Yes, mine tested at 2.8. Last year I never got above 2.0, which I attributed to a bumper seed crop stealing all the sweet. Was hoping this year would be higher sugar and it appears it may be...

[mountainvan]

Last guy to post other than me... That was real classy trying to steal the lease on my newest sugarbush. You told my neighbor I wanted you to have the lease or some lie like that. Well, they realized right away you were not being truthful.
for the traders reading this and thinking this is not sugaring, unfortunately it is. Anyway, I apologize for the negativity. I have to go tap trees now. Big sap this weekend.

[mountainvan]

Brought in some sap today and finished tapping. Waiting for a prolonged warm up.

[mountainvan]

Big sap turned into little sap, but still did a barrel worth of syrup.

[mountainvan]

Everything is going for me today. Added more taps, fixed tubing and vacuum pump, collected a couple thousand gals of sap, and now am making the maple. I love it when a plan comes together. It’s go time big time!

[maple flats]

Good for you! My trees just started to thaw enough for the first sap flow on Tuesday afternoon, and then once it warmed yesterday about 1:00 it was flowing good. It ran all night, first boil of my 2019 season today. First I have to go to my lease and fix a Tee on a mainline. It was a one of my last few plastic tees, the part where the main runs into a wet/dry manifold broke off. SS tee is going there now. We managed to do a quick fix using Gorilla tape to catch what was running in that line.

[Daveg]

19690
Current snow coverage in northern Maple Country. CNY 10-day forecast isn't looking after 3/24/19: no freezes.

[maple flats]

I hope my forecast is more accurate than your's. AccuWeather shows only 2, 2 day times after Mar 23 when there is no overnight freeze thru April 6. That's for here in Oneida, NY, and I'm south of you. about an hour and I'm not at a very high elevation (465' above sea level).

[mountainvan]

I’m going till April 18th at the earliest. Lots of sap today. On my third barrel of the night. A cat nap then out for MORE SAP!

[stimyg]

Hobbyist here, in Hancock NY, been at it 10 years or so, usually with about 30 taps and buckets. But I'm only in the area weekends, so limited in when I can tap and collect. So anyway -

I was last up 2 weeks ago. I tapped 13 trees even though everything was frozen. The first week after (3/2-3/9) was a full freeze, as far as I could see from the weather app (wasn't up myself) it stayed frozen all week. But this past week (3/9-3/16) it seemed like things warmed up with some nice freeze / thaw cycles, so I would have expected to return to overflowing buckets. And when I checked just now it had run some, but not NEARLY as much as I'd have expected.

Not sure what happened. Did I get the weather wrong? Did the deep freeze last up here longer than it looked from the weather, or was the freeze / thaw cycle not right? Is it possible the taps aren't functioning great because I tapped when frozen, and it stayed frozen for the first week after? I can't recall specifically, but I feel like I tapped frozen before and never had this problem. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

[mountainvan]

My guess is that your weather was like mine with no freezes from Wednesday till now, Saturday night. Buckets don't do too well in that situation. Tubing with good vacuum, that's the ticket. I pulled in 10,000 gals this last run. A day to refuel and clean tanks, evaporator, etc....then more sap Monday!

[antelope76]

I'm in Deposit and saw the same thing. We had a good run From Monday thru Wednesday and then it got to warm with no freeze and didn't run all weekend. This week looks pretty good for a few runs.

[mountainvan]

Big sap in the Catskills Wednesday to late last night. Over 12,000 gals of sap! Trees I tapped in January with the zap bac spouts are producing as well as trees I tapped in March. Should overtake last year to date total this week. Boil long and prosper.

[maple flats]

Van, our trees did very well too, both Wednesday and Thursday. On both days we started by tapping more trees, but then had to process the sap. Our original plan was to save it until today for Maple Weekend, but when our tank were full even though we had run them thru the RO just to take them from 2% to 3.1% (didn't dare go higher and then store it until today), we then realized we had to boil Friday. We also put another 300 gal tank into service, plus we had 2 IBC totes full too.
We had the evaporator performing the best ever I think on Thursday after lunch.
It looks like Sunday will be another real good sap day again, it will go up to 34 before 9:00 a.m and will be up to 48 in the afternoon, After a day with freezing temps and 2 overnights that should be a winner. I can see a first for maple weekend, enough sap to run the evaporator and the RO up to max. Only too often we need to either boil slow or even boil water for maple weekends, not this time.
Also, the early forecast looks to be good for next weekend too.

[Ghs57]

Amazing week even for us small timers. I've never made this much syrup in this short amount of time. RO and evaporator are great combo. There's an outside chance I'll match last year. Hard freeze tonight.

[mountainvan]

Full tanks of sap are equaling full barrels of syrup. Not much sleep and lots of coffee.

[mountainvan]

Big sap again yesterday, 7,200 gals from 4,000 taps. 1,600 were tapped in January with the zap bac spouts. Caught up to last year to date total and should surpass it tomorrow. Back to winter tomorrow night, then more big sap next week.

[stimyg]

Thanks for your answers on this a couple weeks ago. You were right, and indeed the sap did start running again just fine!


My guess is that your weather was like mine with no freezes from Wednesday till now, Saturday night. Buckets don't do too well in that situation. Tubing with good vacuum, that's the ticket. I pulled in 10,000 gals this last run. A day to refuel and clean tanks, evaporator, etc....then more sap Monday!

[maple flats]

Van, if you're not careful, you will need to buy more barrels again and then sell at an additional farmer's market to sell it all. How will you get any time to fish that way?

[maple flats]

Besides the expense of building a warehouse to house more barrels, there goes the boat!

[mountainvan]

No worries selling my crop Dave, and I have lots of room for barrels. I am done for the year. Average year for me. For those still going up north, good luck.

[maple flats]

Yes, I remember all of the room you had.

[mountainvan]

Well, guess I’m not done. Good freeze last night for the upper bushes and I’ll be boiling again tomorrow. Still 1.6% and looks, tastes, and test boils fine. Good thing I just cleaned the ro and evaporator.

[maple flats]

I had a freeze the last 2 nights, but my trees have green on a good number of them, just a hint of green.

[mountainvan]

Back to boiling.

[mountainvan]

Now I’m done with another three barrels filled. Started cleaning up today and getting ready for next year. Still tanks to bring in and taps to pull.

[mountainvan]

Ok20324

Summers done, time to get back in the woods.

[maple flats]

If you had wind like we had last night and today, stay out of the woods until the wind lets up. Very strong gusts.
I'll check my woods tomorrow, likely need a chainsaw for sure.

[mountainvan]

Got the all clear from the doctors last week! No new cancer. Been busy opening up a new section of woods adding more taps and repairing damage in the other bushes. Tanks out next week then I’ll start tapping. 24/7 here I come!

[highlandcattle]

Great news!.

[mountainvan]

Started tapping today. Should have close to 2,000 in this week.

[DrTimPerkins]

Good luck with your season van. Good to hear you're doing better.

[maple flats]

Great news Van! Glad to hear the all clear from the doctor, have a great season.

[Windy Acres]

Great news, best of luck this season!

[mountainvan]

Tapped around 2,000 and sap has been flowing well. Just have to put the ro back together then I’m back in business. Tomorrow should be my first boil.

[Buddy 58]

what is sugar content ?

[mountainvan]

Brought in 2,000 gals sap today, 1.6%. Having my first boil now.

[highlandcattle]

Well you're off and running!. Stay safe and good luck.

[backyardsugarer]

Mountainvan,

How long will your tap holes stay open? I am considering tapping this weekend given the forecast. I have brand new drops on one section that I am certainly going to tap. Not sure about my areas with older drops. My season is always done by April 1st. Thanks and good luck. The weather looks amazing for you the next 10 days now that you are tapped.

[mountainvan]

BYS, my taps will run till they don’t! Just kidding. I use the zap bac spouts and they are awesome!!! I’ve gone from January till late April with little difference in flow throughout the season. My regime has been new drop and spout, then zap bac for 2 seasons, then new zap bac for 2 seasons, and then new drops again. Rinse and repeat.
Tapped another 1,000 trees with three sugarbushes to go, then I’m all in. Sap was flowing in my sunny bush this afternoon and air temp was 32.
So far no Apollo 13 moments other than the 600 gal stainless tank to the chin. My beard absorbed most of the force though.
Good luck to all who are tapping and to those of you who aren’t, get going the is a flowing.

[highlandcattle]

I thought I told you yesterday to stay safe!?. Ron want's to know if the tank was ful!?

[Maplewalnut]

. My beard absorbed most of the force though.


HaHaHa...good Luck Van

[mountainvan]

The tank did have sap in it and safe is not part of my repertoire.

[highlandcattle]

How are things going?. What's your tap coynt for this year?. Ron will be putting out a few buckets later today

[mountainvan]

Things are good. Spent today finding leaks in 5 different sugarbushes and got them all tight. Sap started pouring in this afternoon, so 2 nd boil tomorrow. I’ll end up with around 4,200 taps this year. Looking to do 1,500-2,000 gals syrup. Now I have 0!

[DrTimPerkins]

Looking to do 1,500-2,000 gals syrup. Now I have 0!

We all start at the same place. Good luck to everyone for a good season.

[mountainvan]

Tapped more trees, fixed several vacuum pumps, repaired tubing,and collected 3,000 gals of sap yesterday. Filled the first barrel with amber today. Weather looks great for more sap tomorrow.

[mountainvan]

Over 4,000 gals sap yesterday for a couple barrels of syrup. Went from amber to fancy. This coming week looks great for more syrup. Still have 800 trees to tap next week.

[mountainvan]

Plugging along getting what sap the trees see fit to give. No huge runs, but enough to keep me busy. Mineral content is high in my sap. Filtering is a pain, as always, and I had to switch both front pans after only 150 gals syrup due to heavy layer of niter.

[mountainvan]

Pretty much tapped and over 200 gals so far. Pans are soaking in permeate for a couple days. Big sap starting Sunday!

[maple flats]

We are tapping Monday and Tuesday, likely first boil Wed. Only going to have 400-450 taps this year. Our sap flow is likely to start late monday or tuesday.

[red/one]

I'm going to tap tomorrow. Hope the valley warms up nicely and maybe boil Tuesday/Wednesday. Giddyup!

[mountainvan]

Finished tapping last few trees yesterday.

[mountainvan]

8,000 gals of sap the last couple days. Filling barrels and having fun.

[maple flats]

We had good sap flow Monday, but very little Tuesday and Wednesday. Our last freeze was Monday morning. Now it looks like we will have no sap flow until about next Monday afternoon.

[mountainvan]

Sap tsunami in the Catskills tonight. 1,000 gals for the ro to start with early tomorrow already in. Went and bought more barrels yesterday.