First year in Aitkin, MN

[Leo]

Hi Everyone,
Well it was a wierd first year for me.

I put out 110 taps March 3. The first real run was March 19 all sugars.
Boiled 70 gallons down to 5 gallons of sweet on March 20.
Added 40 taps on March 21.
Boiled 120 gallons down to 5 gallons of sweet on March 22.
Boiled 150 gallons down to 7 gallons of sweet on March 23.
So I now have 17 gallons of sweet on ice waiting to finish.
Collected 80 gallons yesterday and probably had to toss 10 gallons that was starting to look cloudy.
It froze yesterday and this AM for the first time all month.
I will collect once more tomorrow and boil again on Wednesday.

I should end up with about 10 to 12 gallons of dark syrup.

All in all I have been having a blast, enjoying every minute once the sap finally started to flow.

Next year I will have 210 taps.

Thanks for all of the advice everyone.
Leo

[Ausable]

Hi Leo - Glad to hear You had a good year. Cause this has been one for the books. Remember to use the Syrup Hydrometer when You boil the near syrup down
to good old maple syrup. You might be surprised at some of the different colored syrups you end up with if you kept them seperate from each other. Of course if the near syrup is all stored in the same container it will all be the same. Mine will start off a reddish gold and get dark as the sugarin season progresses. Hey - Leo good to hear you really enjoyed yourself. It is a lot of work - but - it is fun. I ended up with a little over 15 gallons of maple syrup. Pulled my taps a week ago as everything was budding out. Earliest I have ever finished up. Still have a little cleanup work left - the sap storage barrels and I should be good. Ha - of course - one is never really done - next years wood - etc etc --- ---Mike---

[Leo]

Thanks Mike. I would have been lost without the great advice from you and others.
Leo

[Gissert]

I'm boiling the last of my sap as I type this. We have finished 9 gallons so far, all dark amber with excellent flavor. Never really got a decent run until about 8 days ago. We pulled 75 to 110 gallons a day from 150 taps. We had some cloudy sap all week long, but no buddy or ropey stuff. Yesterdays collection is marginal at best. It will be interesting to see how it finishes tomorrow.