Saps runningl

[Sinzibuckwud]

Had to cut a maple down at work, boy she was wet. Looked at the stump a bit later and it was pooling up.
Then I put the final nail in and gave it a taste.
Weather for the week shows favorable conditions.
My eye is doing that twitching thing and have plenty of wood....
Made some in January and the regular season, might as well add a fall batch.
That Sickness I tell ya.. got a pretty bad case over here.

[wnybassman]

The freeze/thaw cycle of this upcoming week looks as good as anything we've had in the spring for the last couple years.

[buckeye gold]

Hey, go for it if you have some extra time and taps. Just be aware anything you tap now is not going to be available for spring use. I have fall tapped several years in a bush that I typically have a hard time getting into in the spring. Smaller runs and lower sugar is the norm, but you can make some great syrup. I don't know how your weather compares to mine, but if there are still leaves on any of your trees your probably too early. I jumped the gun too early one year and warm weather hit and all my taps quit. My fall tapping is roughly the last two weeks, maybe three just before I expect everything to freeze hard. For me in southern Ohio that is around Christmas until approximately January 10th. There has been a couple years that early syrup saved my butt. Keep in mind it's an extra set up and clean up. You end up doing everything twice.

[wnybassman]

You end up doing everything twice.

Once is enough for me. lol I'll hold out for the spring season, which if anything like the last couple years, might be in 60 days or less from now.

[Sinzibuckwud]

Tapped some nice sized trees down in a north facing hole that do not run during regular season. By the time they thaw out maple season is usually long over. Maple leaves here have been gone for 3 weeks only thing left are the beech and a stray oak but I didn't know the leaves had to be off, will it give an off flavor to the syrup if they are still on the tree? Technically this will be the third setup for this year, January had a two week run then shut it all down and set back up in March and now again in November.
I'm a small operation (for now) so setup and cleanup is not too much work.

[buckeye gold]

The leaves on the other trees won't really matter. It's just kind of a yardstick to be sure your maples are in dormancy

[Sinzibuckwud]

The leaves on the other trees won't really matter. It's just kind of a yardstick to be sure your maples are in dormancy
Dormancy gotcha!
Yup good and dormant here, snow decided to hang around all day today, boy sure felt like sugar season cold and damp snow on everything even the woods had that smell to it. 5 gallons of sap today just got above freezing with lots of clouds. I think its gonna run good tommorow, 27f tonight with 33f at 6pm and high of 39f tommorow with a little sun.
I'm mostly curious in the taste, lower sugar should give a nice dark syrup especially on the ol 2x2 flat pan. Never had fall syrup and never made it, good chance to get em both done I suppose.

[buckeye gold]

Your syrup taste just like spring. typically it is a little darker

[Sinzibuckwud]

Had a decent run 7 gallons, was about noon before we broke the freezing mark and even longer down in the hole.
Another inch of snow today, the forecast shows a decent week next week. Doubt it will go longer than that we're usually froze up solid by the end of November.
Got my plan together for first trial of tubing, gonna put in 12 taps on 3/16. Built the shack is at the lowest point of the property not the easiest build site but will pay off once tubing starts going in. Eventually 2000+ taps straight to the sugar shack.... But that's a loooong ways away, 25-30 years lol