still boiling!?

[highlandcattle]

OK. Anyone out there still boiling? Anyone collecting sap? We're in in montgomery county NY. It's 24degress and it snowed last night high winds. Trees have begun to bud.

[madmapler]

I'm still hoping for a few good days. It was 22 deg. here this morning and the next few days are supposed to freeze. The buds are still tight. It'll be interesting.

[TerryEspo]

I think I am still collecting if it drips, and hoping to boil, if the darn snow and freezing temps will stop.
My season has not started in full yet. The good news is trees are not budding yet.
The next few days forecast may change everything, forecast is positive.

Fingers crossed, good luck to you too.

[guples]

yep, im still hoping to get a little more im in Delaware county ny andmonday I made the lightest syrup ive made all year

[Ausable]

My trees are still tapped and the weather looks right - But - enough for this year. Although my sap flow was poor this year - my Kids and Grandkids hauled up many barrels for me to boil and I ended up with 18 gallons of finished maple syrup - best year yet for making maple. For a Hobby Producer - even after giving much of it away - still a lot to store along with the other things we can. If I make anymore this year - I think my Mrs. might shoot me and She is a very understanding Lady. So ---- When it warns up a little and after we fill the wood shed - one more time - I start pulling taps and start my - ugh - giant dish washing project and storing stuff for next year. Have Fun...... ----Mike---

[fishman]

-3 here this morning. 33 for high so its not doing a thing. Gotta start here soon. Best run so far was about 35 gallons in a day.

[DoubleBrookMaple]

I am still going. No sap today, as it only reached 33-34 for a couple hours. Tomorrow look good, and Friday better.
Weather looks marginally good for the next few days, with a couple very cold nights and then right at freezing predicted some days after that. Trees are mostly tight with a very few that are starting to bud. These trees are sure individual. Some have given very little sap, and one large one that gave little sap started budding days ago! I broke out my scope to check the tops because I cannot see real well, but it is obvious when they really bud out.

[Loch Muller]

Still Tapped in Essex County at 1500 feet. It was 75 here on Monday, but down to 14 degrees this morning. I looked around this afternoon when I got back from work and everything is frozen. Maybe tomorrow. The sugar maples don't seem to be swelling up yet so we'll see. Be good to get another couple gallons in before it's over.

[motowbrowne]

After some 60+ degree days, a lot of taps dried up, but the ones that haven't are running pretty good. Strange, it seems like the beginning of the season again; ice in the tanks and buckets.

[sugarman3]

yelp,still hoping for some after it warms up,high today got to 37,turned pump on for 1 hr,barely a drizzle,got to get to that 42-44 degree's and lets see what happens,no buds here yet

[TerryEspo]

Two degrees above freezing here today, very slow run, collected just under 20 gallons and have it in buckets in the snow.
With a bit of luck, a bit higher temps tomorrow and I should have enough for a micro boil, just like my last 3 times.
Still hoping for a big overflowing run, even just one.

[maple flats]

My trees have not budded yet, and the sap finally started to run slowly as it warmed enough today to thaw out (about 3pm.) Vac pumps are running now. It will run earlier tomorrow and I'll collect and boil. After this week, I think it will be over for me, I might get sap thru sometime Saturday. Last boil might finish up either late Sat. or sometime Sunday. This will be a record late date for me (but certainly not a record high amount of syrup). The latest I ever boiled was before I had an RO, when I finally finished off the last of my sap on April 17. That year my last collection date was April 14. While all was in the pans the next day, it took me 3 more days to finish on my front pan while I had water in the flue pan, and then to pack it in bulk containers (5 gal size back then).

[WindyPoplars]

Our Birch just started running today, so we will be boiling Thursday morning.

[MidMichMaple]

Had a decent run today. Run down the tree trunk, that is. Pulled my taps last week but debated leaving them in for the cold snap this week. Could have gotten some sap today. Oh well. It's nice that all of the cleaning up is done already.

[madmapler]

Sap ran like crazy yesterday but was cloudy. I gathered some and started concentrating but decided to boil a little sample on the stove. It was terrible. I pulled the plug. I made 430 gallons this year and I'm very happy with that. I hope this second run works for someone.

[Michael Greer]

I've finished up in the sugarhouse, but my buckets are still hanging. I went around and dumped all that sap from those 75 degree days with the thought that we'd se a new fresh run this week. The next four days look perfect, and I'll haul it to a friends sugarhouse. Maybe I pulled the plug too early, but I just couldn't figure out what to do with what was already in the evaporator on those hot days.

[North!]

We have produced about 1/3 of our expected crop up here on Minnesota's North shore of Lake Superior. The thermometer has not risen above 29 degrees F., and the nighttime lows have dipped to 12 degrees for the last 3 days so we have been shut down temporarily. We still have a snow depth here above the knees and it appears we recieved another 6 inches more overnight. When comparing our production numbers to last years, it appears we are running on pace to produce similar quantities of syrup, which was an average season. Like always, we will be at the mercy of the weather, which on this cool snowy morning appears a bit foreboding with not a lot of cool nights forecasted over the next week. On the bright side there are no real season ending warmups predicted either. Only time will tell. Good luck to all those still grinding away out there. This has been without question the most difficult sugaring season I have encountered in my 30 years of producing syrup.

[Lethalbowman]

9662 I boiled 40 gallons down to 3 1/2 on the block arch before further reducing it too get to 216 degrees on the fish fryer. I will now finish it up in the house on the stove. I collected 3 gallons of slightly orange sap last night and will check again Friday morning to see if I get anymore to boil down. It smelled like normal sap to me but I just didn't want to risk adding it to the other batch.

[maple flats]

I ran my pumps from when things first thawed yesterday mid afternoon until 12-1AM, started them back up this morning. Then about 4:00 this afternoon, I pumped the tank with about 450 taps on it, got about 25 gal only and it was bad sap. I dumped it. Then I went to the larger bush, about 800 taps, similar, maybe 45 gal, dumped that too. My season is now over. I still have some in the evaporator, and I was last feeding in about 14% concentrate. I'll drain the flues pan tomorrow and flood it with water, while I boil it in the syrup pan. After a couple of hours of that, I'll let the fire go out and then I'll pump it all to the finisher and finish it there. Then I'll have a total for the season, it sure will be a lot less than last season.

[western mainer]

So you just don't push the concentrate with water?
So you add the concentrate in the syrup pan by hand?
Brian

[Loch Muller]

It got up into the 40's today after another night in the teens, but I didn't find much sap in the buckets. I'll see what happens tomorrow, but I think the taps are drying up on me.

[adk1]

I am pulling an early am boil tomorrow as in firing up at 3am

[palmer4th]

Sap ran well for me today in Warner! Will collect in the morning but with today and tomorrow we should be good to boil again on Saturday.

[Germanmaples]

I am in German NY and I was trimming tree on the fenceline and cut into some maples and they were running real good. The sap was real sweet. Another hard frost today.

[jmayerl]

I collected at midnight and all the bags were half full when the sun came up, I would say most taps put out almost 4 gallons in the past 12 hours. That's more than they put out in the last 3 weeks! 26 out now so should run hard in an hour. Buds are out so time to fill a few drums with crap for the wholesaler.

[adk1]

I boiled this morning at 3am..only to find out that the sap has turned buddy. nasty

[mtgoatmaple]

Boiled yesterday and going today again. Sap from late yesterday and this am very clear and not buddy ! Syrup dark, but still tastes good. This is the latest we have ever made syrup. A very strange season. We do have some very cold trees in a ravine and the ground was still frozen below the top inch last Sat.
(First post here-hope it comes through ok.)

[Geroldn]

My trees ran well last night and still a little this morning here in Northfield, Vt. I'm out of dry wood and tried some wood stored outside, but no luck. I just couldn't get a good boil, just sap simmering. A friend came over and hauled off 55 gallon of sap for his 1/2-pint. I drained my evaporator and finished in a turkey fryer. I'm done for the year. 21.5 gallons from 116 taps on gravity tubing. Plenty for family, gifts, and friends. Already have ideas for next year.

[palmer4th]

Boiled down 200 gallons today, syrup is getting pretty dark but no off smell. Sap ran again today and looks like. Freeze tonight too.

[Paul VT]

Still going. Sap is sweet. 2.2! Syrup is dark but still has a pretty good flavor. Tomorrow morning will be the last boil for us. Not going to freeze.

[Loch Muller]

Still going here. Had a good run today and cooked down 50 gallons of 2.3% sap after work. The sap is nice and clear and I'm back to making medium after the hard freeze. I was worried the syrup would taste off, but it seemed fine to me, and my wife and 2 year old son confirmed that it is indeed maple syrup. I'll boil tomorrow and start breaking down the taps since it is going to warm up this week.

[fishman]

Finished off a two day collection of 105 gallons this morning then got 95 gallons tonight. Not gonna freeze for at least 3 days. Getting late and not sure how much longer we have here.

[sugarsand]

Picked up over 1500 gal yesterday morning. Boiled after sap had sat in the pans for a week, we expected it to be dark at first but we made 32 gals all dark. But not only dark, everything had a strange taste and weird smell that I've never experienced before. Filterpress papers looked like we were filtering Tar, completely black. Froze last nite, should another boil for tuesday nite for the last one.

Sugarsand

[guples]

well today will be the end have 1600 gal. of sap to boil today and will finish with about 280 gal. of syrup for the season, not bad for our first season on our own

[Loch Muller]

Think I'm all done now. I've got about 4.5 gallons of syrup in the canner from this weekend. Drained the sweet out of my pan and finished it to syrup last night. I might be able to keep going for a couple days here, but it is going to be in the 60's and I'm working all day so I don't think I can keep the sap good. Won't be much anyways. Only 1/2 of last year's production per tap, but all in all I'm pretty happy with the way the season went.

[WindyPoplars]

We had a slow week of birch sap, and now we are drowning in the stuff. Had to throw together a second stove to keep up!