Northeast Ohio?

Very nice run here the past couple of days. Looks like cold sets in again for a few days.

Gathered 525 gallons from Wed and Thursday, at 6Pm some trees were still running yesterday.

Jason,
Glad you got some of these last runs. Mine have been lighter than normal. I may need to bite the bullet and replace taps and drops next year:(
Regards,
Chris

Had a nice visit from Daryl ( the 5" hand filter press builder) last night as I was boiling. It was nice to talk maple with him and get some pointers.

I have been able to bottle 35.5 gallons so far. All medium except the last 9 gallons or so were grade A dark. Hoping for a real good week starting Tuesday.

Boiled down another 400 gallons yesterday. 15 gallons of light syrup so far. This weekend looks great!

Have bottled 54.5 gallons at this point. Its been grade A dark the last 25 gallons or so. Lots of boiling this weekend northeast Ohio!

Get ready everyone. The floodgates open today!

So what does everyone prefer: Boiling in snow or boiling in the 60's?

Snow, I was sweating today and nobody wants to see me take too many layers off.

Snow all the way . . .

fruit flies are out now so i had to put the screens on the windows.


lots of niter this year... lots.

drawing off light amber still .

I second the niter comment. Have to shut down every 3-4 hours to switch sides. Have been able to bottle 80.5 gallons. After being grade A dark for awhile, the last 20 gallons have been medium. With warm sap tonight and tomorrow I assume it will go back to dark or even B (my favorite) before the cold sets in mid week.

Defienetly snow! But I'll take the nice weather for gathering! I've made 45 Gallons so far. The last 20 were medium.

Big run, we boiled for 5days and really needed a break. Visited Gingrich for more containers today and found it very busy with most also buying containers. We are up to 120 gal. finally making some dark. Sap is running at 37 to 1. Nice freeze up and rest up till Friday. Heard a few frogs last night so the end is near. The old timers would say the frogs will get frozen three times before spring is here for good. We don't make much syrup after hearing the frogs.

12 gallons of light and 5 medium so far... got another 300 gal of sap in the trailer for tomorrow night. ... love this weather .


I've got a good feeling we're going to have at least another couple 3-day runs before its close to over. At least that is what I hope :)

I am up to 96.5 gallons bottled plus another several still in evaporator. Its going to be nice to get a little break and then more sap Fri hopefully. I am currently making grade B but hope it will lighten back up after this cold spell.

Starting to get some cloudy and yellowish sap here in Cleveland. I guess the maples are budding. Anyone else? On a more positive note, here's my new cooking rig! Any feedback? My hillbillyness is reaching new and epic levels.
Attachment 7404

You've reached Hillbilly Heights right there on your meth lab. ;) Seriously, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Hey All,

I was very late in tapping this year-just kept thinking it was winter still, so I missed the first gush and don't know where the trees are in the process but I got about 15 gallons of sap the first two days-which was last weekend,
and today is the first the sap has run since. I got about as much today. I have maybe 20 taps on the trees that are within hauling distance. As in, hiking back up the hill with my pitchers full because the trees are all downhill. I boil in a pan ontop of my outdoor grill which has a side burner for like beans or whatever. It works pretty well but yes it would save me a bunch of money if I would just buy the stuff.

But then, I wouldna get to do all this sipping.....

Nice rig Maple 216, nothing is budding here. Don't be fooled by the red maples, they always look like theyre budding. . . Ontario, glad your grill is working out! It's all fun!!

The few silver maples I tap sure look like there budded out but sap still looks clear??? Dripping good right now.

Happy to report that I made light amber for the first time this season. Didnt hit it until my 122nd gallon. Sap is crystal clear. Looks like a good week starting Saturday.

Hey good for you! You sure have a nice setup. I have about 2 dozen taps and carry it uphill, so getting a workout.
Just makes it taste all that much sweeter. After a dry week the bottles filled up overnight on Monday, so I got a little more syrup on the stove. Then everything froze again. I am about midway between Cleveland and Columbus.
It is usually 8-10 degrees cooler here than Columbus--the low pressure systems that sag across the lakes keep the clouds wrapped around us. Two of my big maples are budding but the rest are waiting for a better forecast.

Tree's budding?

I pulled the 9 taps on silvers in my yard just because their buds are swollen but I bet they would be good for another week. I think the rest of my trees are good for another two weeks at least looking at the forecast.

My taps got pulled on the 17th when the trees started budding. Of course, I've been having second thoughts on that, due to this great weather for sap running. Doesn't matter though, as I hurt my back on the 18th and wouldn't be able to finish this season if the taps were still in. It's a lot of work collecting from 55 taps with 5 gallon buckets, hauling out of the bush on foot!

Nice setup Maple216! I'm in Wellington, but work in Cleveland. I grew up in the Memphis/Fulton Rd. area.

Hope everyone is ready for the flood of sap next week!

im ready to go. boiling as i type this. collected about 310 gallons today ... half of that was frozen from this weekend.

havent hit B yet... knock on sugarhouse. but i got a feeling its coming next week!

Wow after 7 1/2 weeks we had the best run of the year some buckets over flowed twice

What a great year it has been. I hit 200 gallons made this morning.

when will it stop! :) 320+ gallons every day for the last 3 days..thats on only 163 taps. i love it but i need a vacation!

If what they say about the peepers is true we're done. I heard them out in hunts burg tonight.

i dunno . i think we would be done if it werent for this mini freeze tomorrow. but im making medium still .... barely any dark and no B yet . i like the B for smoking meats. im sure ill get some B wed/thurs and then it should be over .

That was a great run! Finished up yesterday! Syrup went back to light at the beginning, and sap in the tank was 2.8. Saturday and Sunday it was medium. Sap was 2.3 to 2.1. Great year! Hoping for one more run this week!

So who is still producing good-tasting syrup in NE Ohio? Mine still tastes great but I know of some who are producung some off-flavored syrup? I assume today and tomorrow will be our last boils, unless the syrup still tastes good, then we will keep going as long as there is still sap flowing under vacuum.

I collected 2 gallons per tap the last two days. Everything is still tasty DA .... and I will pull them on Sunday

My taps have been running good and clear the last 3 days. The syrup has gotten much lighter again like it was the beginning of March. I plan to pull my taps on Sunday. I was shooting for 20-25 gallons this year and am actually over 60 gallons now! What a year to start out.

Great tasting syrup this year!! I had a slight problem with the first gallon and a half I made, but after that its been awesome! The last ten gallons have been dark amber.

Dark amber lately here too but with grade b taste, which actually is my absolute favorite.

Cant believe how dry my woods has gotten just in the past few days. Maybe this is why the sap flow hasnt been great the past two days even those we have had freezes at night. Most likely the last boil will take place today. Its been an awesome season.