I’m tapping tomorrow

[cmeudaly]

I’m on the West border of Missouri. Actually tap in Kansas but there’s no one else on here in Kansas (that I know of). I’m tapping tomorrow. It feels a little early but there might be a run the 15th/16th and I want to catch it.

[Brian]

That is cool, I didn't know that syrup was made in Kansas. I am going to start tapping next saturday.

[cmeudaly]

It’s quite a spectacle for folks around here. I learned everything from this forum and I get to give syrup to many who need explaining the difference between Mrs Butterworth and mine lol.

[Pdiamond]

Do you have a lot of sugar maples?

[cmeudaly]

Yes mostly sugar maples. There’s silvers down in the creek but I’ve got plenty of sugar maples to work with. There was one other fellow in my area that made syrup, but last I talked to him he had dialed back on taps a lot because of his age.
There’s also a landowner adjacent to mine that I talk to now and then, he’s in his 80’s, and he said that his land was homesteaded by his grandfather and they would tap trees together when he was little. Just a few valleys over from mine. Pretty cool. I’m 31 and I have two little boys so far so we’ll be keeping it alive around here.

[Brian]

I think that is great. That is a good story and you could state the best syrup in Kansas. One question if you click your heels 3 times are the lines repaired? Now that would be a trick!!

[JayTee]

I have a small window for syrup this year, between January 7 and February 19. Had planned to go to gravity rubing, but will stick with my old bag collection system for now (plus four buckets on Walnut). Tapped on Jan 9 and started seeing flow two days ago, which picked up yesterday.

John

[cmeudaly]

Well shoot I already repaired everything so I’ll have to try it next year.

[Brian]

That is to funny.

[Pdiamond]

That is great, and you are young. You'll be able to include your kids as they grow up. I started way late in life and wish that it had been earlier. I may have looked at homes a little differently until we bought the farm.

[Goggleeye]

We had all our taps out by the 17th and caught this first sap run. We were set back by the big ice storm that hit the east side of the state. Ended up with only about a dozen trees damaged greater than 50%. Just a lot of clean up, but we got it all ready just in time. Looking forward to the next warm-up.