Crawford County 2022

[Irish Ridge]

Saturday, Feb. 26th...All 50 taps are now in on our north facing ridge. Only one tree dripping slowly. Only a few with wet wood. Crusty snow that is easy to walk on going tree to tree.

Sunday, Feb. 27th...Another sunny day after a freezing night. Buckets were checked late afternoon, they now have sap on the bottom, some more than others but no need to collect Monday morning. Monday's chore becomes getting everything ready up on top as we wait for the woods to really kick in. Next two weeks look good temperature wise. Here we go with the 2022 season.

[Twisted Minds]

Saturday, March 26th...All 50 taps are now in on our north facing ridge. Only one tree dripping slowly. Only a few with wet wood. Crusty snow that is easy to walk on going tree to tree.

Sunday, March 27th...Another sunny day after a freezing night. Buckets were checked late afternoon, they now have sap on the bottom, some more than others but no need to collect Monday morning. Monday's chore becomes getting everything ready up on top as we wait for the woods to really kick in. Next two weeks look good temperature wise. Here we go with the 2022 season.
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I'm hoping that was just a typo you stating (March) 26th and 27th, and you meant (February).

[Twisted Minds]

If so, I hear ya. Over here in LaCrosse County, tapped about 50 today on lines, maybe 4 or 5 were even moist. The rest were drier than a popcorn fart. That should change quickly though with forecasted temps. Going to try and tap another 50 or so tomorrow.

[Irish Ridge]

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I'm hoping that was just a typo you stating (March) 26th and 27th, and you meant (February).

Thanks, for catching that. What was I thinking. I went back and fixed it. Moving on, I just got back in the house from my morning walk in the woods and there is still no need to collect sap this morning (Tuesday) even with lots of sun and the temp close to 50 yesterday. Lost a lot of snow yesterday and gained soft muddy trails heading from the house to the woods. There is always a week where I have to get in and out of the woods early before the temp thaws the trail too much from the overnight freeze. Sad part is that it didn't freeze at all last night by us.

Used to follow reports from a a guy on this board from down in Grant County. I was always about 5 to 7 days behind him in what the trees were doing. He hasn't written for a few years so now I follow the Iowa board a bit. Sometimes I get reports on the conditions from Milleville which is due south of me but on the other side of the river.

[Irish Ridge]

Early morning check on the taps revealed that today will be another non-collection day. Actually got down to 27 last night. First time in a couple nights that we went below 32. At some point the trees have to warm up and let loose. I have run out of projects to do around camp. Only snow left is in ditches and strong shade areas.

[Irish Ridge]

Saturday, March 5th...Periodic rain last night but a break in the rain this morning allowed for a muddy walk to the trees. Only two trees have produced a couple of gallons for the week. The rest are wet and dripping sporadically. Kind of glad about the low production because there is no way in and out of the woods and back to the shack with a motorized vehicle. The trails are complete mud and even walking is a chore.
The pond which hasn't been full for over a year is now releasing water. More thunder and more rain began at noon, currently enjoying a short break mid afternoon. It appears more rain is on the way later this afternoon. With no boiling being done and time to play, was able to catch some nice late season crappies through the ice yesterday.

[Irish Ridge]

Sunday, March 6th...1.75 inches of rain yesterday. More mud, great. First sap collection of the year and brought in 40 gallons of sap which averaged just under 2 per cent sugar content. What looked like a great week quickly turned into something less than even average. Looking at the long range forecast my prediction is another week of below average sap production. Snow is forecast for tonight. Not much of a report. Not much of week. Keep sappin.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

thanks for the up date,our trees are not producing only 80 gal out of 250 trees.

[Irish Ridge]

Saturday, March 12th....The Crawford County reports isn't much different that the others in the area. I was able to collect just over 40 gallons from my 50 taps earlier this week. On the plus side, the mud is all froze up. On the negative side, so are the taps. The vineyard coulee boys haven't even finished setting up. The brother in-law on Bouska Road has a total of a half gallon of syrup for the season. Since I am caught up at the sugar shack I might just as well get the jump on springing my clocks forward this morning. Next report to follow next weekend or whenever the trees wake up.

[Irish Ridge]

Monday, March 14th.....Sap is running. I could leave it that but won't. Collecting this morning some pails were still fairly solid chunks of ice. 50 taps and 85 gallons of sap; I'll take it. No breeze - smoke and steam rising straight up as I write. I'll take it for as long as this little run lasts. Snow is gone again except for the shade. Out for now.

[Irish Ridge]

Wednesday, March 16th....Another good couple of days of sap production. A couple of flies and one moth in a few pails. Hasn't gone below freezing in two nights. Mud is the worst it has been in the woods. A gobbler and couple of jakes were courting about 20 hens on a nearby field so spring has to be close.

Friday, March 18th....Constant rain overnight and during the day kept me out of the woods and finishing product inside on the gas stove. 7.5 gallons from this quite different year so far. No light syrup this year; all a nice dark color. Maple branches are beginning to turn red, no buds yet.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

Here also the mud seems better up top but in the valley its at its worst, last to lose the snow. lots of deer tracks in the tire tracks, havent seen them but their there.our syrup is darker also but has a great maple taste.

[Irish Ridge]

Monday, March 21.....Collected sap early this morning after getting a fire going. Good sugar content in the sap. Well over 2.5% A couple of the trees had to be solid 3%. Finished on the kitchen gas stove on Tuesday and was able to push our syrup total to our second lowest year. One more good run will get us into our average years. The boys on Bouska Road decided to pull taps based on the weather forecast. I am going for one more small run if nothing else.
Friday, March 25.....Checked buckets and nothing. Left them all in place still hoping for a last run. No buds on trees yet but seeing the change. Big wind forecast for later today. Another two inches of rain in the rain gauge a couple of days ago. At least this rain went into the soil. No peepers yet in the pond and I have water running out of there for the first time in close to 2 years. This crazy season keeps it interesting.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

Boy crazy season is right, our syrup season is way off only 19 gal of syrup, Last year our last cook day was March 27th with a year total of 52 gal syrup. did beat our worst season of 12 gal syrup. still hoping fore some more though.

[Irish Ridge]

Tuesday, March 29th....First time collecting since the 21st. In that time span the trees gave me 1.5 gallons per tree over my 50 trees. Sap was running nice when I collected late this afternoon. Still nice and clear. Even with all of the wind over the last few days there was still plenty of mud to keep it interesting. There were a few sprinkles around 5 pm with a whole lot more forecast over the next 48 hours. Even had some ants inside one bucket today. It's looking like buckets get pulled Sunday or Monday at the latest.

[Irish Ridge]

Thursday, March 31st....Another late afternoon sap collection and I am glad I did. I had some 5 gallon pails overflowing. Sap is still good but doesn't look like spring water anymore. This all coming in the last 48 hours, and the sap is still dripping real nicely. The wind is still blowing pretty good. The rain is gone, the snow has half melted. Looking at below freezing after midnight. Firing up the stove at first light. The last couple of days have finally assured me of a better than average year.

[spike in wi]

Glad to hear your having a good season Dave. We pulled our taps last night only because we ran out of bottles. The trees ran like I've never seen the last couple of days. We had tapped on the 27th of February and most of our season was the last three days. Was looking for you at the SREC audit yesterday but I saw someone else in your place. Mike

[Irish Ridge]

Saturday, April 2nd....Good to hear from you Mike. Glad to hear you got into this late run as well. I may have that same bottle issue in a few days. Yesterday I had a college room mate and his grandson come over and give me a hand. I am glad they did because the craziness continued. I am walking like the hunchback of Notre Dame today after all the walking on the side of the hill. We pulled several taps that had slowed down to nothing only because I had the extra help carrying out buckets. Other taps are still going like gangbusters. At only 5 gallons an hour of evaporation, I am committed to several days and all through the nights of boiling. A brother-in-law over on Bouska Road pulled his taps last Sunday and I just shook my head. This week it is his head shaking in disbelief. After the snow ends at noon, we will start up again. I forgot what a relaxed morning with a coffee felt like.

[Irish Ridge]

Monday, April 4th....Actually started boiling at 9 a.m. in the snow. Went late into the evening and kept the fire going. Got up a couple times in the night to feed wood. Sunday at daylight got the stove going at full strength again. Just after noon finished a batch on the stove outside and started all over with another boil. Later in the day began collecting sap. The wild run had continued and sap was collected until the rain came. We continued to keep the fire going through the night. This morning we stoked the fire to full strength and got back to work. All remaining taps and buckets were pulled. Sap still looked fine but the forecast says we are done. Working through the night and hoping to finish before the rain Tuesday afternoon. Peepers are back in force. Gobblers and hens were heard all afternoon. This last run really made the season. Year end totals to be shared in the next and final post.

[Irish Ridge]

Tuesday, April 5th,...Worked through the night and through the next morning trying to beat the rain. Was able to get the nearly finished syrup off the stove around 12:30 p.m. Rain followed a short time later. Everything went right.
Thursday, April 7th.....Doing it in 4 batches, was able to finish the 10 gallons down to 9.25 gallons of a nice dark color syrup on the gas stove in the kitchen. What looked to be a less than average season a week ago turned into our second best of all time. That was one crazy week. Perhaps the best week ever for us. Not looking forward to the clean up but I am constantly reminded that this whole hobby is self-induced. Nice to read the Vernon County entries and southeast Wisconsin entries. Pretty much the same weather and things going on at the same time. See you all next spring.

[Mr Sugar Maple]

Hi Irish Ridge, had a chat with my neighbor Friday morning. he was asking about our season and I was telling him about fire wood shortage and a few other complaints. He said you know, you can quit at any time. That advice opened my eyes. He was so right something makes me want to keep going, but when its over its over. Take care I always look forward to your posts, feels like talking to an old friend.God Bless.