Was That It ??

[WF MASON]

Most here have had three or four boils , talked to a guy in Industry Me, said he'd had two small sap runs ,not enough to fireup a 3x10 , was that it ?? is the season done??

[Fred Henderson]

My guess would be no. As for where I am it is just starting.

[tapper]

A month ago the forcast was for warmer days .....they never happend. Now the forcast is for colder nights and they arent happening. The last 2 nights the forcast was for lows in the low 20s or upper teens. It barely went below 32 just for a short time and with highs in the 60s and close to 70 it has made for a bad season.

[hambone]

I don't know but I do know it was the windiest we've seen in months yesterday and the trees ran the best yet this season. It was just incredible, on one bucket the drops couldn't hit the bucket the wind was so fierce so we fixed that with a little adjustment. It only got down to 32 and a couple trees were still slowly running this morning. But we were so glad to see such a good run!! Boiling tonight, yippee!

[802maple]

I guess it depends where you were as the night before last it went down to 15 degrees here and it is 22 right now hopefully it warms up today so the sap will run as it didn't get warm enough yesterday until late in the day.

[MaineMapleDave]

Was that it?

Been asking myself the same question. Conditions the last couple of days/nights SEEMED perfect, but most of my buckets have barely any sap in them.

If this truly is it, once I've finished off what little sap I have left, I will have made about 25% of and "average" year. With some necessary equipment upgrades this year, it will work out that this year' syrup cost me about $400 a gallon to make..............

[Revi]

The last few days have been good. I don't know, but it has to run some time. We've only gotten about a quarter of a regular season so far. We should still make some syrup this year. It was about 25 last night, so it should run here. Yesterday it was pouring out! We'll boil all weekend. It's not over until it's over!

[TapME]

It's just started here. Have 60 plus taps and only collected about 200 gaollons in 3 week. On a nornal year at a quart of syrup per tap that would be about 600 gallons if facts are correct. Long range looks good for the next week.

[royalmaple]

I don't know about anyone else around here, but I have been busier than a one arm paper hanger. Sap has run for me every single day the temps got above freezing. Since I tapped I have gotten some sort of a run everyday, except the bitter cold below freezing ones.

Yesterday was best run so far, not ideal conditions but decent freeze the night before and bright sunshine & very windy. It was running nearly full pipe all day into the releaser.

Without vacuum, I don't think I would have been singing the same tune this year. I can't seem to get the tanks empty, which believe me I am not complaining. Just got to spend some more time in the off season figuring a much more effective way of collecting sap from the woods.

Started up the vacuum pump yesterday morning, and pump was only pulling 5-7 inches, so something was up. Ran up the mainline and sure enough during all that wind we had the other day and night, about an 8 inch maple 75+ feet long broke off at about 6 feet up and was laying across 7 laterals. Just when you need a chain saw. I just about killed myslef but I man handled that thing off the lines. Plugged in the popped taps and voila, 19 inches. Glad I had vacuum never would have caught that mess without it.

Sap has been cloudy and low sugar % but still making good tasting syrup.
Wood shed is looking like a ghost town.

[TapME]

I here you on the wood shed. Mine is looking on the slim side too. It's a great way to clean out the broken branches and dead trees out of the woods. Nothing burns like dead standing pine. Still looking to travel south for a day to firer a real evaporator, maybe after we are done cooking and selling sap this week. Will send a pm.

[gmcooper]

We are still plugging along. Had a decent run today for this year. Still only 25-30% of where we should be for season.

RoyalMaple where in the world are you? From what I hear North, South, and West of you most everyone is struggling to get enough sap to boil. You didn't have a drop line fall in the brook did you????

This could be one of those years we drag on well into April.

[802maple]

Yeah Matt are you sure the Captain didn't play games on you drop the end of the mainline in the brook?

[MaineMapleDave]

Man-where are people getting sap to boil?!?!?!?!

After what should have been 2 PERFECT days/nights, I checked the buckets on my roadside trees (pretty good indicators of sap flow). The buckets were as dry as can be.

Might have some sap in the woods, but I think '07 is over.

[royalmaple]

Mark-

Just across the street in buxton.

I thought in order to get the vacuum regulator to work properly you need to have one end of the mainline in the brook? Maybe that is why. at least I put a filter on the inlet side, so I am not totally stupid.

Jerry no captain in the woods yet.

This is secret spot A817-3b:12

Pretty wet spot now with all the snow melting, still pleanty in the woods4-6 inches and running like a banchee.

The releaser was dumping every 2 mins over there two days ago, faster than ever. good tight system, all reds. I mean devil trees you know. Sugar is low only been about 1.4 but tons of sap so still ok with me.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jeremy,

How many taps do you have and how much syrup so far??

[Revi]

We made some syrup today, and had a little run. Not as good as yesterday, but got some sap anyway. I agree, we may be close to the end of the season. I saw some maples budding, but that was in town, and they were silvers. It could be just a week more now. We'll see. We face north and still have a foot of snow, so maybe it'll run for a while still.

I was talking to some guys who have 20,000 taps up north of here, and they said that their season is just starting. 350 acres of nothing but big sugar maples! They have a season that starts about the time ours ends and lasts into early May some years. They're in Somerset County, but it takes 2 hours to get up there.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

Jeremy,

Whats the other job that is eating all your time now?? Miss seeing you on here all the time!

Great you have a good attitude and are happy with the syrup even in a bad year.

[maple flats]

I've had a good couple of days. Sap ran good Thurs and the best this season on Friday. Boiled Yesterday but had so many people stop in I didn't get out to collect last eve. Will collect this morning and then I think I need to pull my syrup pan and clean it before I get back to boiling, trying to make some more medium. I had to pull my reds and silvers but the sugars are still good, no sign of any buts swelling yet, even my yard trees that are warmer. Friday I averaged over 2 gal/tap without vac and all I got a chance to look at yesterday was one small tank for a mini system of 8 taps just by the sugarhouse and that ran about 5-6 gal in about 10 hours of above freezing up to that point. Our forcast on Accuweather says good thru April 12 if I make it past 3 overnight above freezings, then all below freezing til 4/11 or 12. Hope those buds hold off. It might save a below avg year. Right now I only have about 45-50 gal on what was 425 taps, have now pulled the soft maple taps and am down to 375 taps still on. My sugar has run right near 2% which is low for my trees, usually runs 2.75-3.75 and I did not have any significant FTC damage last year, just a little bit of minor damage, few holes or edges chewed. Just a mile south of one of my rented roadsides there was complete defoiliation for a few miles southward from there.

[danno]

Hey MapleFlats - I know what your talking about re. the FTC's

I drive the thruway from Syr. to Utica occasioanlly and remember seeing huge defoliation around your neck of the woods last summer. I know a couple guys north of me that did not tap to give their trees a chance to heal because they were hit hard.

[TapME]

I think were in the middle of the season, what do you think?

[WF MASON]

Stopped last night at a sugarhouse in Newfield , they were just finishing up their season , syrup was fancy or better in the grade kit comming off the evaporator, I could not believe it,the RO has to be a big part of this grade. They pull their taps becouse it 'was time', but said the sugar was still there and the sap was still flowing with pleanty of snow in the woods. Still not sure what 'it was time' means if the sap is running and the oil tank is full.
The night before I helped a friend boil the last of his sap, it came off the evaporator 'extra dark'. Sap is still running here if your not sick of it yet.But most are. I've heard Somerset county is still in winter up there and most haven't boiled yet. While at Bascoms the other day Liz said it had been a very disapointing season with alot of dark syrup being made. A very strange season to say the least.

[TapME]

Strange does not say it all. Last nite while boiling I didn't skim the top at all and put 50 gallons through it. Made a very sweet dark amber I think, and the funky smell (woody I think went away) and the sweet smell on the steam came back, I can't figure it out so I just make syrup.