What kind of sugarmaker am I...

[Calycanthus]

What kind of sugarmaker am I that I am looking forward to an extended spell of weather that will not be conducive to good sap flow?

Truth be told, I tapped about as early as I dared. The start to the season was slow due to sporadic runs, but I enjoyed that...let me ease into the season and gave me time to solve a couple of things.

I'm far ahead of schedule this year. I typically make about 22-25 gallons a year, and with what I collected today, I'll be past 35 with tomorrow yet to collect. So I guess I shouldn't complain. I've got what I do down pretty good and it only took how many years?

[Haynes Forest Products]

I would say your about as typical as they come in my circles. Now I do have farmers that are friends and they have a different outlook. They want a normal season that starts and ends on the same day every year.

Now my other group are Hobby/I just spent a lot of money and need to make it back people. Now there is me I leave Parker Colorado at the end of February with the weather in the 60-70's with a trailer full of supplies. I have a hard time getting into the feeling of what real sugaring weather is until I hit Iowa and head hoth into blinding snow storms into the twin cities and it game on. I like the weather that the media is complaining about.

Once I get up to Door and get the shack up and running I hate to shut it down. By the time its time to call it and pull the taps my shack is all shinny and running at top speed. It is a bitter sweet feeling especially when they forecast freezing temps NEXT week. Im getting calls that we need the sprinklers need to be turned on and the grass needs mowing and I just 25 more gallons to fill the last drum. I like rotten weather it makes the heat of the shack and the cold beer taste better.

[DrTimPerkins]

Maple producers are an unusual bunch in lots of ways.

When it's too cold, they spend all their time thinking "when is the sap going to run?"

When it warms up, they ponder, "when is the sap going to stop?"

At the beginning of the season they wonder, "when will the season start?"

About mid-way through they're thinking, "when is it going to be over?"

It's an unusual profession/hobby/addiction for sure.

[BSD]

Maple producers are an unusual bunch in lots of ways.

When it's too cold, they spend all their time thinking "when is the sap going to run?"

When it warms up, they ponder, "when is the sap going to stop?"

At the beginning of the season they wonder, "when will the season start?"

About mid-way through they're thinking, "when is it going to be over?"

It's an unusual profession/hobby/addiction for sure.I've found outlook is directly proportional to boil times. if you're spending every waking minute boiling away you're going to burn out in a short time. if you have a good balance of taps and boil time you'll find joy in it.

last night was the first time i called it quits early because i was tired/frustrated. i was having a hell of a time maintaining a good rolling boil since my wood supply got wet on me. my usual boil rate was just over half of what it normally is and i kept thinking 'how can i possibly have another 100 gallons to boil still?...' lots of idle time in the shack last night and that gets old fast. i'd rather be bouncing around from the floatbox, to the thermometer, to the filters, to the head tank and keeping an eye on things when it's cruising along.