Squirrel drowned in my sap bucket

[rookie]

Last night I was collecting my sap and i took the cover off one of my buckets, only to find a dead squirrel iside. I was pissed! That bucket was more than half full...:cry: has this happened to anyone else?

[happy thoughts]

Yeah, it's happened before. Sometimes the sap gods demand a sacrifice.

[Ecnerwal]

Yep, common hazard. Toss the squirrel and the sap, wash the bucket out, move on.
also, add a reason to prefer tubing (so long as you squirrel-proof whatever the tubing drains into - otherwise you can get a bigger sap loss, or the dubious honor of producing squirrel soup syrup.)

[rookie]

luckily i had a spare bucket, cause i switched all my close trees totubing this year, i was in no mood to break out the bleach last night

[jmp]

Sugar moths are already out in full force. Yes, yes, tubing!!!!! :)

[Bucket Head]

You cold blooded killer! Just kidding, lol. Yes, it happens every so often. Last year was the first time we found bodies in the sap and it was a shock here too. One red squirrel and one mouse, on separate occasions. Before this, in years and years of bucket collecting, all we ever had were the usual bugs- thats why it was a shock. But I'm pretty certain the cone filter caught them when we drew the syrup off later that evening...........

Steve

[mike z]

Sadly, I've found 2 flying squirrels in buckets in the last couple years.

[buckeye gold]

I've got a few raccoons I'd be happy to find drowned....They have found my buckets and i have 5-6 laying on their sides on the ground lately

[Octo]

If I'm not mistaken, there are home brewers that might be interested in a nice squirrel ale!

[PerryW]

please send my condolences to the squirrel's family.

[jfroe939]

he was probably just trying to wash his nuts. Pun intended.
If you're going to drown in something, I pick sap, too.

[highway]

Any real sugarmaker would ring the squirell out before tossing it. :)

[Thad Blaisdell]

Only good tree rat is a dead tree rat.

Good ridence I say.

[MillbrookMaple]

We were told once that in CT if they have a Squirrel in the buck they dump the sap and wash the bucket. In NY they throw out the Squirrel and dump the sap in the tank. In VT they grab the squirrel and first wring it out and then dump the bucket in the tank. Im not sure what the rules are in NH. ;)

[rookie]

well i'm not sure what "the rules" are but the sap went straight back to mother earth! That thing was pretty water logged, it could have been in there near 2 day's but likely less I wasn't in the mood for squirrel soup that night. But after all this, my wife is sad for the squirrel

[PerryW]

We were told once that in CT if they have a Squirrel in the buck they dump the sap and wash the bucket. In NY they throw out the Squirrel and dump the sap in the tank. In VT they grab the squirrel and first wring it out and then dump the bucket in the tank. Im not sure what the rules are in NH. ;)

ha! In NH we wring the squirrel out into the bucket, dump the bucket in the tank, then cook up the squirrel for dinner.

[Dill]

I've got a few raccoons I'd be happy to find drowned....They have found my buckets and i have 5-6 laying on their sides on the ground lately
Last year I caught a raccoon in my tank in the vac bush. Had to dump 75 gallons of sap and wash it out. Scared the raccoon pretty good too, he hasn't been back since.

[PapaSmiff]

When I was helping out at the Vermont booth at the Big E, someone told me that joke about the squirrel in the sap bucket, and how they handled it in CT, Mass, and VT. Of course, since the person telling the joke was from Vermont, it took 15 minutes to tell the whole joke.

[happy thoughts]

ha! In NH we wring the squirrel out into the bucket, dump the bucket in the tank, then cook up the squirrel for dinner.

LOL In NY it ends up at a 5 star restaurant. On the menu it appears as soupe d'écureuil d'érable and they charge you $35.

Everything sounds more expensive in French :).

[Greyfox]

"Hello, I'm Steve and I'll be your server. For your appetizer may I suggest our special? It's our pan fired, maple-marinated, locally harvested, free range delicacy that we call "Rocky, the Frying Squirrel."

[happy thoughts]

"Hello, I'm Steve and I'll be your server. For your appetizer may I suggest our special? It's our pan fired, maple-marinated, locally harvested, free range delicacy that we call "Rocky, the Frying Squirrel."

ROFL The free range part did me in:lol:

[SevenCreeksSap]

well i'm not sure what "the rules" are but the sap went straight back to mother earth! That thing was pretty water logged, it could have been in there near 2 day's but likely less I wasn't in the mood for squirrel soup that night. But after all this, my wife is sad for the squirrel

Poor Guy,
Has dead bodies floating in his sap, a depressed wife, and all you guys can do is make jokes about it.
Bet he thinks twice before bringing his squirrel tails here again

[TwinBay]

I preseason scout of your sugar bush with some #4's might be in order next year