January Journal

I had to repair lines already!!!

On the one line I was using a Gripple and it failed! The wire just pulled out of the one side??

The other was squirrel damage. pesky little things. Once I got the lines fixed I fired up the vac and checked for anymore leaks, looks and sounds good. I had not a single leak at the saddles, that surprised me.

For me I am pretty much done I am now waiting. I do have to do a little cleaning in the sugarshack but that is stuff I can do in the evenings.

I am bummed a little I couldn't make it up to the NY maple conf this year. It is a great show and I was hoping to learn more about making candies and that kind of things. I guess there will always be next year.

i see what i can dig up talk to your local water work department they mite have an idea

I got some work done on my sugar shack today. I got one wall boarded up with shiplap. Tomorrow morning I'm going to finish putting up the tripple beam al the way around. Then I have 4-H in the after noon so I can't work all day on it.

-7* on the thermometer here. I hope we get a january thaw. I need it to get some of this snow down. Never got the BIG storm friday so that is good. Sugarhouse is plowed out and gonna get some things dusted and rearranged more or less out of boredum. These temps sure put the damper on steelhead fishing. Did get some snowmobile riding in today. Always puts a smile on my daughters face.

Releasers and tanks going in the woods today. Going to try to get the Booy bush releaser setup all done and maybe get over on the other bush and do that one too if I have enough time. Starting to get there. Three weeks till tap time. Im not putting more taps out now. Out of time. Now its operation HOOK UP, TIGHTEN UP, AND GET THINGS PITCHED. BIGSAP IS ON ITS WAY!!!Theron:)

Still way behind here and to top it all off we had some yahoo drive through our barway in our back field and destroy a healthy section of fencing. I just don't get the thrill of destroying someone elses property.

-20 below this morning. Brrrrrrr.

A friend suggested that I try a neighbor that does sheet-metal work on the side for the re tinning of my arch. Only three miles away and I had never heard of the guy. I took my old pieces down to him today to get a quote. $178 bucks and a week out. Hard to beat. The guy has a sheet metal shear that will cut ten foot sheets of 1/4 inch mild steel! plus every other tool or machine a fabricator would want. I'm going to have to talk to him about a steam hood for my 3x8. And a SS preheater of course but not this season. Got to make some syrup first. I can spend next week cutting wood and hanging mainline wire and pipe.

Started construction on new temporary sugar shack, just big enough for the evaporator with room to feed it, barely. Big overhang to stretch the usable space. Had to keep it under 100sqft to not get a building permit.

It's a late start This week the sap will start to flow, high 40's in the day, 20's in the night...but season won't start until mid febuary, just ehough to tease/worry us about what we have left to do.

http://images.darkmachine.multiply.c...nmid=309764648

http://images.darkmachine.multiply.c...nmid=309764648

It looks like Maine there in West Virginia. Big White pines and all.

Are you going to tap when the warm weather hits at the end of the week, or wait for a while?

It's tempting, the extended forcast calls for at least 15 days of sap weather, but if we did manage to put in taps not sure we would get much just on gravity, especially if the weatherman read his crystal ball wrong.

We'll probably wait, for at least another two weeks to make sure it doesn't freeze up again. We'll be kicking ourselves if the season is actually starting early for us, usually no taps in until mid February.

It's too early to tap yet in WV, things are frozen hard as a rock and it would take a week of above freezing just to get things started thawing out and I think you are well north of me.

Last season we didn't start tapping until the third week in February. And you are right, every thing is pretty well frozen solid around here. We'll be watching the weather closely though. How much snow did you get down there in souther wv, we got about 25" here (mostly gone now).

If the weatherman can actually predict something right we got a warmup coming in the 15 day outlook. Got mid 40's in there. I am getting a bad twitch in my tapping finger looking at that. It is close maplemaniacs it is close. Hope everyone is ready. I got this feeling it is gonna be an early one this year.

You guys are lucky. We are haveing out forecast warm spell now and it's still below feezeing. Long range forecast says all the cold is going to settle up here instead for another month or so. Thanks guys.

PS Just checked the forecast and the cold weather they had forecast Sunday disapeared and now it's supposed to almost get warm. Not enough to tap but hopefully enough to get some work done around here.

KenWP
Dont get all hang dog about the weather. There is nothing you can do about it. Besides weather forcasters are speculaters. It is not going to get that warm down here.

My trigger finger is twitching too! Im going to probly keep getting ready though and stick with the end of the month tapping schedule. Ive still got a lot to do so I probly better get it all done before I start getting a lot of sap. I worked last night on hooking up the releaser across the road and got back up at 0330 this morning and went back to work on it. Should have it all done tonight. Kind of neat with a horizontal releaser dumping into a tote and then its going to run down to the road to a tank. Things are starting to come together now. January 31 we're drillin holes. Theron

Theron,
What is you tap count for this year? any Ideas?

Dave- My best guess is 5100. Ive got a buddy too that says hes bringing me sap from maybe 1700 gravity taps. I told him Id try to boil for him, I think I can. Im hungry for money this year to pay for stuff Ive bought. Ill have to apply myself. Theron

I Know what you mean, I have a lot to pay for myself.

We got a couple days in the bush over the weekend. The snow was about knee deep with a slight crust in the middle that made walking a bit more difficult that I'd have liked! My brother and I replaced a bunch of old tubing with new semi-rigid and that only leaves us about 300 or 400 taps of old green laterals to replace and we're completely switched over. We stretched about 8 rolls and got the droplines cut in and saddle manifolds installed. Both bushes we were working in had initially been tapped with tubing 20 years ago and a lot of nice young maples have grown to over 8" since so we picked up another 40 taps or so.

We had a tree on one piece of mainline but it bounced back up once we cut it off. We got the cable skidder on the back of the International tractor and pulled a few skids of firewood out. One tree didn't quite go where we wanted it to fall and came down on the mainline - DOH! It stretched the wire a bit and will need to be tightened but no serious harm done.

Lots left to do, so little time!

I am ready Finished up the remaining plumbing by the sugar house now I think I 'll make up some more drops and put in another lateral or 2 to those that I didn't think I was gonna tap maybe.... no pressure If I get to it I will. or just go Ice fishing!!! hhmmm what to do fish/maple fish/maple fish/maple!!!! maybe do both.

fish now maple later. When maple comes the ice goes.

oh yes good advice ....taking the little guy fishing tomorrow...he went last year for the first time we had fun didn't catch many fish but he had fun drinking hot choc. and eating jerky. I use my hunting ground blind for Ice fishing so when nature calls and it always does with him!!!!:rolleyes: then he has a place to go. And the wife is going to some yoga retreat thing in western mass, So the kids and I are going on Saturday too. bring the fire bucket nothing like franks and beans ( I wanted venison steaks but he wanted hot dogs!) while your ice fishin and a few brews as well. Ice is real thick now!!!

I had better get things ready. The ground is not frozen and the weather is starting to break. I have to spend 4 days in Erie the end of this month for work. I hope it's cold then. Also, will be hosting a backyard sugaring seminar on March 6th.

I "attended" the Penn State webinar on beginner syrup making. It was OK. I don't think it helped any beginner's by showing and talking about wet/dry lines, vacuum, releasers and a 6X18 evaporator with a piggyback. Most of the questions from the attendees were very basic. It was good to see a lot of interest in making syrup.

Dan W, are you tapping soon?

Red My daughter loves going as well. I have 2 fishtraps a 2 man and a single man. Heater flips up to hold a pan for some hotdogs and making the hot chocolate. I use to tournament fish for walleyes and in the winter we had to camp on the ice for 3 days. Some of the best times I have had in my life. Had to get out of it, rich man's game. Spending 10's of thousands in hopes of just breaking even at the end of the season is like thinking you are gonna make a profit on syrup:D

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Originally Posted by darkmachine

Last season we didn't start tapping until the third week in February. And you are right, every thing is pretty well frozen solid around here. We'll be watching the weather closely though. How much snow did you get down there in souther wv, we got about 25" here (mostly gone now).

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WE have gotten close to 50" so far this winter where I live and probably about 60" at the sugarhouse. Way things are going, I am shooting to tap big south bush around Feb 6th. For next week, it is supposed to get above freezing every day for a few hours during the day which is abnormal the way is has been for the past month. I would guess it will get the snow way down as there is way too much snow around the trees for them to even think about running.

I am in the woods every night until dark. I have about 400 more feet of mainline to run. I have run 3,000 feet of laterals so far but a long way to go on that front. Hope to have all the mainline and laterals up by the end of the longs weekend. The I will make drops in front of the tv for a couple of days. Evaporator is coming late next week so I will have to set that up too. Lot's to do in only a little over a month.

Chris

weather man said it is going to be in the forty tomoorow and warm the rest of the week so i will be out in the woods putting tubing up like to have it all up by the end of the weekend to take advantage of the nice weather

I am with you there with the warm weather. Above freezing today for first time in a while and managed to get out for a couple of hours and wade thru the deep snow and repaired the tubing in the south bush with 145 taps on it. It is pretty much ready to go. Supposed to be 40 to 45 for next 6 days, so hopefully I can get some more done and I am off for holiday next Monday. Need to walk the other 2 bushes and repair the lines there. Everything in sugarhouse about ready to go, need to wash the 2 new 160 gallon galvanized tanks I got today while it is warm. All the other tanks and evaporator are clean from last season.

Some genius on here told me to fix my welder problem by checking the ground. I put a brand new ground clamp on it and the breaker hasn't blowen yet. DUH.
Is tres froid today but friday is supposed to get warm enough for me to finish a few things. If the sun shines I can do a lot of prep work in the greenhouse as it gets rather nice in there.

Just watched the local weather and the next 7 days we are to be in the low 40's everyday. It was even mentioned that the next 2 weeks we are to be above normal. What to do, What to do.:lol:

One good thing with the warm weather I can finally clean the milk tank and the evap pan. I was holding off that chore figuring it would get warmer one of these days.

It is funny watching the trade this time of year. Besides Therons BIG SAP ALERTS, a few days of warm temps and everyone is talking when to tap, me included.

Oh by the way


T minus 2 weeks and counting with no built in holds. My finger is on the big red button and it is getting itchy!!!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3rdgen.maple

Red My daughter loves going as well. I have 2 fishtraps a 2 man and a single man. Heater flips up to hold a pan for some hotdogs and making the hot chocolate. I use to tournament fish for walleyes and in the winter we had to camp on the ice for 3 days. Some of the best times I have had in my life. Had to get out of it, rich man's game. Spending 10's of thousands in hopes of just breaking even at the end of the season is like thinking you are gonna make a profit on syrup:D

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wow 3 days on the ice don't know if I could do it.

with kids you can never get there early!!! didn't get set up until about 10:30

But we caught 6 pickeral no size to them and about 10 yellow perch my son had a good time but man he's only 4 try to get him to keep his mittens on and then he complains his hands are cold!!!! the lake is only about a 6 minute drive from house and my boy way sleeping 1/2 way home he was wiped out!! actually so am I.

the lake I used to fish when I was kid in NJ was known for its bass and trout but they decided to make it a walleye lake I haven't fished there in 15 years but there are some lunker walleyes in there.

Too cold here to even consider tapping only day close to 40 is thursday then back to cold for the weekend and more ice fishing !!! yeah!!:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Dennis H.

Just watched the local weather and the next 7 days we are to be in the low 40's everyday. It was even mentioned that the next 2 weeks we are to be above normal. What to do, What to do.:lol:

One good thing with the warm weather I can finally clean the milk tank and the evap pan. I was holding off that chore figuring it would get warmer one of these days.

It is funny watching the trade this time of year. Besides Therons BIG SAP ALERTS, a few days of warm temps and everyone is talking when to tap, me included.

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Dennis,

Forecast here looks the same for next 10 days, but don't be concerned as this isn't abnormal. Be ready to tap whenever you normally tap and use this warmer weather to your advantage and get everything done you can so you are chomping at the bit when the time is right!

Going to be above normal here to. Instead of real cold it's going to be just cold. I can see that it's going to be a long winter.

Ken I like your outlook on the weather, "Instead of real cold it's going to be just cold":lol:

I agree with Brandon. Weather here is calling for temps near 30 for the next ten days. Would sap run? It will in the sun. Will I tap any? Nope! I have tube to unroll and that will go much easier with the slightly warmer temps. The saddle clamps can be a bear when the temps are in the single digits. This warmer few days is go time but not for sap. It is the last hurrah to get everything lined up and ready.
Doug

I just checked the 15day forecast, high 30's and low 40's for the next 15 days. just warm enough to sweat while working in the woods. This will be a good time to wash 1500 buckets, add 400 more taps on tubing, make all the main line connections that need work, repair all tubing, set up vacuum, and make sure the trucks are ready to go. Tapping trees no time for that yet!

Just a quick Message for you all to keep watching the sugar inn/report spam here message, I have temporarily downed all PM and email. Sorry for the inconvienence. hopefully back up and running soon.