Southern Wisconsin Runs

[Packerfan]

Nice runs on Wed and Fri. Should run well at the end of this week. My tubing just keeps growing. 8O Man, I love tubing. Saves my back,arms,legs,and energy. It's worth every penny. Every penny. :D

-Dan

[Chemist]

I live in Washington County and on the way home from work it was 44 degrees today. I tapped when I got home, and set up 18 taps with buckets. My buddy at work is bringing me buckets tomorrow, and then I'll put out my last 6 taps.

17 out of the 18 were running at a rate of a drop per second after tapping. I was really excited!

My concern about a possible early budding with the rain in December and January is causing me to tap early so I can be sure to get the first two runs of the year. Then if the sap goes bad, I'll at least make some syrup. If the sap stays good, well great! I'll make more.

The forcast for my area has changed and for the next 4 days it looks like a high around 40 degrees and a low in the upper 20s. Seems perfect to me. We will see.

[Packerfan]

It's running BABY!
Tapped a bunch today. Back out tomorrow!
Yea-Ha!

[Pete S]

Just got in from tappin' ours!

"Mom" says I should go buy more taps at Fleet Farm soon............ya baby!

It was darn excieting to pull the bit and brace free from the hole and see the dripdripdrip................!

Hope the wind and rain for our area stays away.

For those in the Sheboygan County area, I called Maywood Enviromental Park today for something unrelated, and they said they were going to tap this Sat, BUT they are out tapping the balance of trees today.

Hope to boil some in a week'er so!

Pete

[Chemist]

I had 7 gallons yesterday and 6 today. I will start cooking this weekend. I have 18 taps in now and I just got 5 more buckets so tomorrow after work I am tapping more. Will have 24 in when I get my buckets all sorted out.

[Chemist]

I made 3 pints of syrup on about 19 gallons of sap last Friday. Since then we got 20 inches of snow. However, I did put the buckets back out once it stopped snowing. Monday night I collected 4 gallons of sap and today I got 6 gallons.

Still not heavy runs, but it is nice to be tapping. Can't wait to cook again. I love my new stove!!

[southfork]

Chemist,
Glad to see that you are making syrup. Here in Rhinelander ( Oneida county) I cannot yet forecast a tapping date. We have four measured feet of frost in the ground so things will be slow to get going. I do not yet see it on the 15 day weather forecast but things can change very quickly. Probably will tap around the second week of March. In any event, good luck and thanks for keeping us posted.

[Pete S]

Chemist!

I'm just about 30 minutes north of you, being west of Plymouth.

The LAST TIME I saw sap in our buckets was February 23! (frozen)

The run started strong and went with the colder weather.

Do you have a "sap dance" yer doin'?

I want another 15 gallons before we start to boil if I could..........and would like it by this weekend.

We're on 16 taps with 6 more standing by when the run starts again.........year #2!

Pete

[Chemist]

We have been hitting about 34 for a high the last few days. So, I get a run, it freezes at night, then get another short run the next day. We collected 9 gallons today on 24 taps. Still not much per tree, but enough to make sure we will not run out! We had one pint left from last year!!

I know where Plymouth is. How far west are you? I like to fish on Random Lake South of Plymouth.

I am in my 4th year of doing this, and I am in the process of learning my trees. There are trees that run earlier than others in my woods but I guess that is normal. I am very lucky to have 30 plus trees I could tap on our 1/2 acre lot and the next door neighbors 1/2 acre lot.

About 10 years ago, we selectively cut the woods and removed the box elder chinese elm and buckthorn. We left the maples and some ash. The maples grew like crazy after that. So a few years back I decided to tap..

Good luck with your new operation.

Four feet of frost in the ground up North heh? That is a lot. I hope you get a nice long season. Last year I pulled the taps on April 4th down here. Weather is a strange thing though. We have been having winds from the East off of Lake Michigan and I think that might be giving us the extra degree or two we need to break the frost. Even with lake Michigan 25 miles away, it still affects our climate a bit in West Bend.

I am just thankful for what we have collected so far. My kids really love working with Daddy on our little backyard sugarbush and my wife is finding all kinds of ways to work the syrup into our meals.

[Pete S]

Well, I'm still about 20 minutes north of Random Lake, and about 5 miles west of Plymouth, just on the edge of the Kettle Moraine Forest.

If you like Random Lake, come a bit further north and go to Elkhart, or Little Elkhart.........Sundays being the best cuz there's NO MOTORS ALLOWED!

Anyway, it's snowing real well here and you're probably getting rain.

I'm planning on the warmer weather next week to do the trick, and get operations going.

For now, we just wait and dream of our first 2007 boil.

We did "check" pails a day ago..........and actually need our snow shoes.

I'm wondering how carring 5 gallon Fleet farm pails of sap back "down" the wooded hill to the shop is gonna work on SNOW SHOES!

Pete

[Dave Y]

PeteS
Snap a lid on the bucket and put it on your kids plastic sled a pull them down the hill. Works slick!

[Chemist]

Well, I cooked down another 26 gallons to 5 pints of syrup. This second batch has a much better taste than the first. It might be the best we have had so far in 4 years.

No dripping today though, and non yesterday. Had to bust the path to the trees open again.

All this snow. I remember reading a Little House on the Prarie book as a kid that refered to March snow as sugar snow.

Very pleased with my trees so far.

[Packerfan]

Looks like Sunday will be the start of some good runs.
Highs in the 30's and 40's for 10-14 days.
Time to get COOKING!

[Pete S]

We've got LOTS of wind today, and a high about 26*. We are gettin' mentally prepared to get things back on track this coming week.

Hey you "southern WI guys".................send some'a that warm air up here!

I hope it's done snowing............knee deep in the woods!

Pete

[Chemist]

Collected about 10 gallons at 4:30PM today. Most of the trees were still dripping well at that point. I hope to get some overnight and in the morning tomorrow so I can fire up my cooker again.

[Chemist]

Well, the flies were in the sap as were ants and moths today. I pulled for the year after a nice run and after cooking 8 batches.

I wound up with 5 gallons from about 212 gallons of sap. Less than last year, but I pulled earlier too.

I would have liked another week but I don't want to risk the quality just to make another gallon.

[Chemist]

Wow, what awesome weather this year. I love it! I had the stove going so hot last night I has some flame coming out of the 6 foot high smokestack! i went to the 6 footer this year since my stove is 3 feet long and I had read that you should have 2 feet of stack per foot of stove length for a good draw.

Coming up on 2 gallons of syrup soon.

[TR Hardwoods]

Chemist, Sounds like your area is producing well. Send some of that stuff up north!

[Monroecheeseman]

The last two weeks we got about 200 gals of sap. Boiled the first batch of about 80 gallons into a little less than 2 gallons of syrup. My wife says it's better than ever. Was going to boil today, but we are getting snow. Guess we'll boil some tommorrow.
PS Aren't you suppose to plant potatoes on Good Friday?!? :D

[Pete S]

I'm a bit north of you, and east,............Sheboygan Co. We pulled most of our taps yesterday.

We've had such nice weather this season, and boiled 32 gallons (garbage can full) yesterday. We got 3.5 quarts. (double checked, right on the red line, thought it was a nice yield)

This years syrup tastes real good, and am excieted to boil off what I'm guessing will be about 50+ gallons more sometime, next week...............................WHEN IT STOPS FLIPPIN' SNOWING, AND BLOWING!!!

I GIVE UP!

Pete

[Chemist]

Well, the storm shut down my trees and froze the valves on my pan. I have about 7 gallons of partially cooked sap in there. Hope I don't pop a weld. It got down to 20 degrees last night.

Now to clean up the snow. We have about 10 inches on the top of each bucket. The driveway had over a foot. I did a bad job with the snowblower last night, so I have more to clean up. In addition, my Father in Law has a broken wrist (fell on the ice on front porch) so I have to start their drive today too. Will be glad to finish that detail.

Weather looks pretty good for the next week. Plus I am on VACATION!! So, when the snow is cleaned up, I"ll be a full time maple syrup man for the next week (except while I am at Church).

I heard the North missed the snow. I hope your trees are dripping up there!!

[Chemist]

WOW, I had 64 gallons of sap today. I am still cooking and am down to about 35. I finished another quart from yesterday too. Tomorrow I will probably finish a gallon or two. The trees were really running.

Had one tree this year that would not give any sap. Pulled the tap on that one. If it didn't produce today, it never will.

[Chemist]

I am having a tough time keeping my firewood dry. Too much snow melting on it!!

59 more gallons at noon today. All of the trees still dripping heavily.

[Chemist]

Well, I am within minutes of finishing up for the year. I will have just shy of 12 gallons of syrup. Here in central Washington County, the buds are starting to swell. Might have been able to get one or two more runs, but I am already out of wood, jars and time.

Best season I have had.

[Monroecheeseman]

I couldn't take take it any more ;) I had 51 taps and got about 45 gallons of syrup. Considering its just a hobby, I don't think i have enough family and friends to give it away before next spring! I pulled taps on sunday the 30th around noon and had buckets running over! It hurt to see the sap run down the tree, but I just couldn't cook anymore. Next year i have gotta try and limit myself to 40 or so taps, but i start tapping and get carried away. I think this is when a hobby turns into an obsession!:D

[Packerfan]

Small runs the last few weeks. Should freeze again tonight, run Thur/Fri. Then a short warm up. Back to 20's by Wed.

[ackerman75]

I hope you're right about the weather, I need alot more sap than what I have got so far

[Chemist]

Weather looks horrible for this week. Last year, this was THE week and then it turned bad.

I am at 6 gallons of syrup canned, but I had 12 last year. I hope for one more frost soon.

[Packerfan]

Snow coming Sat. 3-6 inches. Temps dipping again.

[C.Wilcox]

I sure hope we get another good freeze. The sap hasn't run here in any real volume since early last Sunday.

[C.Wilcox]

Do any of you lease trees for tapping? I'm wondering what the going rate would be in southern/eastern WI. I've seen lots of posts about renting/leasing properties out east, but nothing from here in WI.