Is this normal?

[Overmyhead]

This was my first year boiling and I am definitely looking forward to next year, preparing and upgrading. My question is... Is it normal to scope out all available Maples within a 50 mile radius? Is it normal to look at every container over 5 gallons and wonder if it is sap worthy? Is it normal to steer conversations toward syrup? And finally, I'm looking at building a home soon and am only considering land with a decent amount of maples on it...

[acafro]

Well... probably not "normal"... but you're in the right place!!

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[Bricklayer]

Your not alone. If this site wasn't around year round I'm pretty sure my wife would leave me. I tell her I could be addicted to worse things. It's funny when someone actually says something about a maple tree or maple syrup or anything having to do with anything maple she says my ears twitch and I light up like a Christmas tree. O well. I call it passion.
I was camping last week with my family and the park put on a nature workshop for kids. We went with the kids and the student that was running it started talking about maple trees and how syrup can be made from them. It took everything I had not to chime in and go off on my own rant. I'm pretty sure it was because my wife gave me that "you better not" look

[Jmsmithy]

Wait...it gets worse...much much worse...:lol:

[Overmyhead]

I started this endeavor thinking a couple gallons of syrup would be cool, now it's morphed into a project that I need to start now to be ready this spring...:o

[BAP]

This was my first year boiling and I am definitely looking forward to next year, preparing and upgrading. My question is... Is it normal to scope out all available Maples within a 50 mile radius? Is it normal to look at every container over 5 gallons and wonder if it is sap worthy? Is it normal to steer conversations toward syrup? And finally, I'm looking at building a home soon and am only considering land with a decent amount of maples on it...
Sounds perfectly normal to me. When we were looking for a new house a few years ago, maples were a criteria for us. As luck would have, the first place we looked at had a small sugarhouse and 13 acres of woods with maples. We looked at many houses after that and came back to the first and bought. As I ride down roads I am always looking at the maples no matter where I am,

[Maple Man 85]

As acafro stated probably not normal however welcome to the best drug free addiction you'll ever find! I went from tapping 200 on bucket and expanding to 3,500-4000 this spring, buying the neighboring property (next summer)doubling the tap count again and leasing my parents property in the next 5 years which should get me to the 10,000 tap range. Your normal in my eyes:lol:

Maple Man 85

[MISugarDaddy]

Overmyhead,
If you joined this forum thinking it would help you with your addiction, on the same order that Alcoholics Anonymous does for persons with that disease, you definitely joined the wrong forum!!!
Gary

[acafro]

I started this endeavor thinking a couple gallons of syrup would be cool, now it's morphed into a project that I need to start now to be ready this spring...:o
You're among good company then... I started out with a turkey pan and 15 taps 2 seasons ago... last year I bought a pan and built an arch, this year I'm planning for 125 taps and currently finishing my sugar shack and hoping to make 20 gallons... and I already have plans to upgrade my setup for next season.... I could be wasting money on far worse things.

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[spelunk68]

I have never tapped a tree, I just built a decent sized evaporator, I am half way through GPS'ing marks of all of the Maples, Black walnuts and Hickory trees on my property... My family is already telling me they do not want to ever have another maple conversation again!

[ScottyWelden]

Nobody wants to hear me, either! And I, too, lust after fat sugar maples whenever I see them.
"Yea, I'd tap that!" I say (I only have scrawny red maples)

[Joel M]

This was my first year boiling and I am definitely looking forward to next year, preparing and upgrading. My question is... Is it normal to scope out all available Maples within a 50 mile radius? Is it normal to look at every container over 5 gallons and wonder if it is sap worthy? Is it normal to steer conversations toward syrup? And finally, I'm looking at building a home soon and am only considering land with a decent amount of maples on it...

This captures my feelings exactly! I am pretty certain my wife thinks I am crazy but she is supportive :)

Hi everyone, I am new here. This past spring I got my first taste of the maple syrup lifestyle. We had about 8 taps and finished about 1/2 gallon of syrup on a propane heated finishing pan. It took forever, but it was just enough to get me hooked. This summer my dad and I built an 18'x40' Sugar Shack and bought a Sunrise Metals 2x8 Maxi Flame! We are planning to have 100 taps on buckets and another 150 on 3/16 gravity this coming spring.

[maple maniac65]

Nobody wants to hear me, either! And I, too, lust after fat sugar maples whenever I see them.
"Yea, I'd tap that!" I say (I only have scrawny red maples)

Scrawny ones give good sap