November Journal

I thought you got back into fishing and got lost at sea or something along those lines. Your new sap hauler should be ready for the season then.

802 has been missing somewhat also. I notice that a few people must have actual lives as they only show up in the winter on here. Hmmmmmmm wonder if that is normal.
Weather is getting down to look like spring sugar weather now. Just have to wait for a few months for real spring. Around here wood cutting and sugar seem to be the only real pastimes for me.
Made sugar pies for my whole class for our split up dinner on Wen. They all come from some other country and do not really realize what maple really is. One fellow had this bottle of Aunt Jemima stuff and I told him I could find something better. Gave him a little bottle of syrup and he gave the other stuff away and then ordered a whole guart as he found maple tasted better and didn't seem to be as sugarary. One customer at a time it seems. Just have to get it in their mouths.

matt don't feel bad it looks to me that alot of trades inculding my self were m i a this sumer

Matt,
Welcome back, that new sap hauler will be the best addition you and the wife could ask for (even an evaporator won't come close). Do you guys know what model it will be? I guess that doesn't matter as long as it's healthy!!!

Chris,
There are few things in the body that we need and the gall bladder isn't one of them. Keep waiting on her, she'll be fine and love it.
I burn whatever I can too, but like those bundles of slabs, they cut and stack easy.
Grandson is doing fine, his first term paper was on, you guessed it, maple sugaring!!!
What a guy!!!!!!!
I've just got to keep him away from the Belchertown area, there are some scary folks in sugarhouses in that area. :lol:

KenWP,
There you go, get a little bit bigger unit and start selling some to help your addiction.
Yeah that 1.7% sap will take alot of wood to make syrup.
If ours was that, we would also use more wood than we do.

Dave

Matt-

congrats on the sap hauler. If you don't stop hanging out with
Theron you'll be adding auxillary bushes in a few years for the kid(s) to practice on.

Mike

Welcome back Matt, I hope that you can stick around for a while. I took some time off this summer too. Too busy with other things to spend much time here. You know the date that I hope the sap hauler arrives on. It will still be a very special day even if it arrives on a different date.

Today was a big day today at Yeany's Maple. The new Force 5 arrived today.
The day couldn't have been better. To top it off I sold a qt of syrup to another members brother just after we unloaded the new rig. Somebody isn't making enough syrup for their family.:)

Dave 3%,
Sounds like you raised him up right !
Yea I have heard stories about Belchertown too:)
Sketching a Advanced Steam Removal System (ASRS) using the google sketch up system, Slow but learning.
Busy working the day job and catching up on the sleep. Not much maple happening right now.

Dave Y,
Congrats. Big day! Shinny stainless! You probably wont sleep much tonight!

Saw a nice 8 point on the way home, near the house, perfect rack probably 16 inch spread.

Regards,
Chris

We added another 12 taps today. It was all from ingrowth, because there weren't any big enough to tap we didn't get the first time around.

We are up to 295 now, so I think we'll easily get to 300 taps by the time tapping starts.

We even added a couple of taps to big trees so we have three 3 tappers now. We only do three taps at 18 inches in diameter or bigger.

The cut we did really opened the crowns up and they seem to be growing in to the space nicely.

I also noticed that the deer have been benefitting from the trails I make for them when I go hunting. The must have followed me around yesterday, because their tracks were right over mine in the snow.

Dave Y, congrats on getting the force 5 in. I have a family christmas party the day your proposing to show and tell. I'm going to try fit it in. Would be great to see others again.

Just checked; I have 2 1/2 gal. left in the freezer! I'm going to have to step up the eating, only 3 months till I'm boiling again:) I have tentatively scheduled my own show and tell. I contacted the woodland owners group I belong too. I told them I'd be willing to host a program to show people how to make syrup in the backyard. I think there's many people who would like to try it but just need a little guidance.

I have bow hunted every day you can but one since Oct. 3 (can't hunt Sundays) I have not seen a legal buck until today. I saw 2 of them. I have all of next week off. I hope I can break this curse.

I went to Somerset co. today to see Walnutdale's Force 5. There was a good turn out to watch the rig boil. There are a lot of sugarmakers in Somerset Co.
Joel, you and your family hosted a very nice event today. Thank you for having us. It was informative and very friendly. hope to see you folks again.

Gary R and Sugarmaker I will make it convenient for you to come I am going to boil for 4-5hrs. The reason I am doing it the 19th is there are no hunting seasons and it will probably take me that long to get everything set up.

Nice day for NOV. Squirrel hunting, Bee meeting, visiting with neighbors, Kids and grand kids visiting us, Worked on 8 hp Cub engine (gas being pumped out of breather?? Not sure what that's about?)

Not much maple stuff today, Oh yeah bent some samples of stainless in thinner gauge. Brake worked better on the thinner material for sure. There would be no problem bending 5 foot piece.

Chris

Back to thinking maple, hard to beleave it's just four months away!!! Going to start cutting wood in the morning. (After I get down out of my tree stand) Some for the house some for the evaporator. Logs have been down for some time should season up fast. No major increases for this season in mind other then a few more taps. Clean up and get to it is all I have to do.

Have the team driving well lots of fall hay rides this past month. Going to start plowing with them as soon as I hitch again, that sould be fun. Also lots of logs to pull out, just waiting for the beans to come off so I can get to the woods.

Sold all but a few jugs, I'm going to be out soon. I have a few locals that come to the house now to get syrup. Did a farm market this past summer that built a nice group of buyers.

Was up a maple last night, took a nice doe. Was mapping out about 100 taps worth of tubbing as I sat there. Lots of maple on that side of the hill. To bad it is on the wrong side of the hill for easy pick up. That was just what I could see from the stand, lots of maple up there!!!! Some day they will all have a hole in them. With vacume and a pump house with electric. And a line to the road for pick up and I could go on for hours with this thought.

Well it's good to be back on the trader after being away for some time. with all my seasonal habbits it's been hard to do much more then check in a little here and there. Good to see your all still here.

Today. Got hopefully the last of 3 cords of wood cut. It was all pine. My total is going to be one cord of hardwood and two cords of pine for this year. I mite split more pine for next year or many this yea if I really crank out the syrup. Then I started "log mauling" he big rounds which is most of it. The "log mauler" is basicly and upsidedown woodspliiter that goes in the front of a skidsteer. It splits the monster pieces down to stuff I can lift. It will save my back. This week I'm getting more gravel then I can start building my sugar shack.

I worked a half day today to pay the bills and keep the boss happy, then went home and my brother and I put up 600ft of wire and then tied up 500ft of the 1.5 vacuum supply line. Should get alot done tomorrow too since it's supposed to be nice! Chris, is the float stuck in the carb on that cub motor? Rap on the top with a hammer and see if that works!

We are framing the walls for the new sugar shack today, putting a 12x20 commercial kitchen on for finishing ect. Hopefully the new kitchen will be used for other uses as well. Was talking to some aquaintences of ours and they want to tap about 100 trees but they don't have an evaporator, I offered to trade sap for syrup and they seem preety interested. If that all works out it should take some of the labor out of my operation, having sap delivered to me.

GaryR; I know a fella who will take all that extra syrup off your hands(LOL).I have your quarts too just got to get them back over there.I have seen as many legal buck as you and have only been drivng to work!
Well the new tranfer pumps works fine and we are increasing taps in our main bush.Getting ready for the Christmas rush of qift baskets and syrup orders. Got to work a couple of other things in and then its; get ready for tapping.
Hope all Traders have a very Blessed Thanksgiving season as we all have a great deal to be Thankful for!!!


Jim

Been reading GaryR's post to do with every thing under the sun. Took a while to load any PDF files with dial up. I figured out the preheater on my own now I have to figure out a good reliable preheater that one dosn't have to adjust every 20 seconds.
Have to really get working on my evaporator here in the next while. Looks like a great day out there to finish cleaning up the yard for winter. I hate shoveling around things come snow time. The woods are off limits to me untill after the 16th of the month due to hunting season. Then I can wander around out there at will.

I shure do hate when good hunting gets in the way of cutting wood!!! Took a nice buck this morning with the bow. By the time I got out of the woods hanged and skinned out, there just wasn't time to start wood. Still have to go to work (3-11) today. No sence in being tired there.

tessiersfarm, How is that team of OX doing??? Thought about you a few times this summer woundered if they were working out ok.

Managed to give my 1/2 pint a coat of high-temp paint. Took a wire brush to it first then got three thin coats on it. Looks better than new!

Also got the pulley system hooked up for my cupola doors.

Only problem is that I have 1000 more things to do before February.

Sure is nice to sit outside this afternoon. Man I like Fall... and my bees love this weather too!

Enjoy!
Keith

got almost the whole thing bricked today. cut all the bricks except the final row last week and cemented everthing in today took 7 1/2 hrs. all is done except for the last row which I will cut to fit tomorrow. pre mixed refractory cement is soooo easy to work with. I got some disposible plastic pastry bags piped it on pushed them together bam easy. Finished the stack on saturday. just need to get some siver/grey High temp silacone for the storm colar but I am firing it up on Tuesday !!!! can't wait.:D :D :D

Got to meet snohiker today. its really nice to put a face to people you talk with on here!!! It's was nice to talk maple to someone other than my wife because she is sick of hearing about it.

What a great day. My sister and I spent the afternoon working up some wood.....for the next season since this years wood is all ready done. I can't believe that it is November and we were working out side in t-shirts....Just love it!:)

Today was warmer then it was back in September. Got all my pallats torn apart or cut into firewood. Found some that are made out of real thin oak and those make great kindling. Had some that the wood looked like mahogeny for some reason. Have stacks of wood now to burn. Winter will be here pretty soon unforunatly.

It was really nice out today. I walked around the woodlot and found a few trees that are big enough for a tap again.

I also found a little grove of brown ash. They are really neat looking trees which the indians use to make baskets.

It's nice to be putting some energy into something other than defense.

What an Awsome day!!

I got all my mainline hung and hooked up all 1400' of it. About 600' of it is a vac line to get to my lower milk releaser. Now to run the 5/16" blue stuff.

It is getting tougher to work outside during the week with it getting dark around 5:30 and working overtime on Sat it gives me just Sun to do the outside work.

Just got back from a week at the hunt camp. We had a good week with 6 deer in total, including a 10-pointer for our 83 year old senior member (a 154 yard shot!) and a big 8 pointer for a 25 year old rookie who is now hooked on hunting! Another rookie got his first deer as well. I dropped a big doe (115 lbs dressed) and a coyote.

We managed to get the concrete poured for the knee wall in the new building. My forms weren't as solid as I'd hoped and had to do some emergency bracing as we poured. It's just a shack over a tank in the woods so it's no big deal that it's not perfect - I'll learn for next time!

I rented a mini excacavator to set my 1500 bulk tank and 500 I poured sono tubes to set them on. Tired of having the tanks settle and now with a 1500 I need to make sure it doesn't go anywhere
Keith

help one of my buddies on his sugar house, i put a coupala on the thing for him while he put plywood on the sides of the walls to seal it up, its looking pretty good, he cant wait, we also cut up his little brothers spike that he shot the day before, good youth weekend deer, tasted great. all in all a fun weekend i didnt get much done at all, shot 2 gray squirrels, pulled logs for an hour before i was called to go help with the deer, real productive!

man it was nice out today.

I finished up the bricks today perfect temps to use refractory cement. cleaned everything up, hooked up all the lines firin' her up tomorrow just after lunch start her out slow then add a little more heat to 500F stack temp for about and hour then shut her down and let it cool down clean out the pans check for cracks if there are any seal them up and let it sit for a few days and fire it up agin and burn it hard!!!

Shotgun season starts Wednesday but I doubt if I will get out before saturday. if its nice I'll take the kids out and set up the blind. my daughter has the swine flu. simptoms aren't too bad. she's doing it OK though.

Sounds like fun. Good luck with the inaugural boil.

The swine flu is already here in Maine too.

Danno2840 Welcome back young man. I thought you either got stuck in a treestand or your truck finally got you stuck in the middle of nowhere. Did you get a new truck yet or did you go with the maple equipment.
Red my daughter had the swine flue as well a few weeks ago. Doc said that type A is much more to worry about than the swine. She faired it pretty well. Now she has a double ear infection. Doc also said that 8 out of 10 kids that come into her office have tested positive for the swine.
Long day with meetings trying to land some city contracts with service on printing equipment. All I could think about was getting the heck out of their and spending some time with the dog chasing birds around. Faired well though I hope. Got home around 3 grabbed the dog and hunted for 2 hours and never put a bird up. Sure is fun watching the dog do her thing. Got home finished up the deer with some meatballs and snack sticks. Made some maple cream . Test buckets have only produced once so I am in the wait mode again. Heading to secret big buck spot on wednesday and thursday. Iam looking for the 130" one this time, Gotta get #4 in the freezer. Yeah I know Im greedy this year. But with the rising cost in licenses this year Iam getting my moneys worth.

OOOHHHHH MMAAANNN!!!!! I wish it were sap and not just water!!! cured the refractory cement today everthing worked great!! a few little things here and there but overall very very good. I can't wait to boil sap in it!!!
I didin't even get it up as high as it will go.

3rdgen We can't even get in to see the doc. I have left messages for 2 days. they must be slammed I am sure...I just got back from parent teacher conference...only 10 out of 16 second graders in class today. She doesn't have bad simptoms just really a fever and bad sore throat.

Okay 3rgen what's a hunting license worth. I have stupid deer sleeping on the lawn behind the house and I can't shoot at them. She who must be obeyed would have me sleeping in the greenhouse if I shot at one. Now the turkeys might be fair game as she figures they are ugly.
It's dark by the time I get home from school so not much get's done during the week. I really need to get moving on things now. Need to figure out how good a solduerer I am.
Did start a batch of pumpkin wine tonight.

3rdgen - i was in my stand (or one of my friends stands) 24 out of the 31 day bow season, had the chance to kill a big ol doe but a little spotted fawn ran up beside her and right then and there i said "nope" and watched them mill around for 20 min and walk away, i also had a 60lbs skipper come in but that wasnt worth the effort so he walked to. but since the end of bow season 2 weeks ago i went up to the vontrapp farm put their old honda 2wd 4 wheeler in the back of their truck and took it down to my place and have been skidding logs threw the sugar woods since, its been slow going i can only pull 2 6"-8" logs 6 or 8' long at a time with out beating on it so its been 2 at a time. im getting down into the part where im about to roll the thing because of nasty terrain so the last 25 or so logs will be blocked into 4' or 5' so that i can pic them up and bring them to where the wheeler can get at them, no im still on the hunt for a truck, still only have 1000 and we are done work for the year, i talked to a guy i know who ive helped w/ fire wood when i needed $ off and on but hes got enough help this year already, but thats life, i will jerry rig it all together some how, i always manage to do so and make it all work we will see

oh and i went and toured VTC the other day and they said really all i needed to do was send the application in and i was pretty much into their dairy program, that maid me happy

Hey guys!

Do you prefer to do line repair work now? Are the critters less likely to chew in the winter, so there is a good chance of the repairs staying repaired until sap time, or should I wait until closer to the season.

There is plenty of other things to do, so I am trying to avoid repairing my repairs.

Being from north west corner of NJ if anyone is familiar with NJ there as so many deer they are like city rats, or field mice. they are everywhere. a few years ago they started a program called earn a buck where you had to shoot a doe before you could shoot a buck they killed 75,000 deer that year, thats almost the estimated deer population of new Hampshire in 1 season. now they avaerage around 35,000 to 45,000 deer a year.

when I was still living down there I think our best year was around 12-14 deer. between my dad, brother and me. and I got 5 of them. 2 with bow and 3 with shot gun. you can't run out of tags down there if you get a deer check it in get another tag. when I was home a few years ago my parents had been in the house for a little over 20 years I counted all tags we saved and we had shot over about 100 deer. average 5 deer per year. and none of it went to waste!!! now they are having bear problems and the animal activists won't let them have a bear hunt.

We carry a roll of good electrical tape in the spring when we tap and repair critter damage that we can find .Then make one or two more trips through the bush when the vac is on and finish the repairs
Works for us

Jim

Jeff E,

I like to do as much repair work as I can before the snow falls. That way I can get anything that is on the ground back up again before it gets frozen down. I still go back through a week or two before I tap to make any final repairs. I tap with my vacuum pump on and flag anything that I cant fix while tapping.

Michelle, sap hauler/wife, shot her first deer today. She's been hunting for years and never got one. 128 pound doe ten yards or less. She's very excited. Sorry about getting off topic.
Keith