January Journal

Paddy very nice work enjoy that building... Picked up mainline today and wire to start hanging the mainline tomarrow. should have tubing and all fittings tuesday. Skipped the verona show this year, been working alot and decided it was alot more important to me to see the boys play hockey and my daughters dance class. On another note seems I have to cut more wood for the sugarhouse. What I had cut and the neighbors cut suddenly is disappearing seems my dad decided to come over and take some for his house. Said his wood is wet and not heating the house good so he decided he would use some of my sugarwood to mix in with his wet crap. Not happy but I guess I understand. Cutting more wood at this point was not in the plans and now the season is knocking on the door I got to lay back on work and get stuff done on the maple side of things.

Got the metal roof on the wood shed today not much more to do until that project is done then all I have to do is fix the arch and make the ash pit and the new sugar house will be all set to go.It will be nice using my own house this year.Time is ticking until Tapping

the weather has been kinda crappy and i,ve been really busy so,i,ve been sitting in the house mostly ordering supplys aand doing some planning.yesterday,i desided to go to a auction.i got a bunch of new hose clamps..around 100 for $10.00.i also got a hand cart that will work great for bringing firewood to the arch.i have a wooden floor in my sugarhouse so i don,t wanta be throwing wood around.
i have my head tank all in place and i got my whole house filters a couple days ago.i got a package deal on ebay...three filters for $40.00 i,ll use one to filter sap coming into the head tank.one as a moisture trap and the other one ?? for now.
i need to go buy some fittings,pipe ect and get my head tank plumbed up this week.i have some 5/16's fittings coming from the maple guys and once i get thoses i,ll start putting up tubing..weather permitting.

delbert

Not maple related except that I am always looking at maples as I walk by them.
Just a brief update on the status of the deer hunting in NWPA.

Chris (the ugly one with no gun)
Gerry
Brent
Phil
Notice the only thing they are dragging is their butts:)

We have a lot of fun getting them up (deer) and clicking at them with the smoke poles.
It was snowing so hard I was making snow angels standing up!:)
Jim Bortles: You should have been there!

One more week! Then its time to get serious about maple!

Chris

I was going to hang some laterals today but discovered lapiere had shipped me the wrong size saddels. I called the local dealer who I bought them from and there going to talk to lapiere tomorrow and have the right ones shipped and let me give the old ones back at the state meeting in a few weeks. Its nice dealing with local people when you buy things.

boy today just sucked ........ evap is de bricked .... and no where to go ....

I got the wood shed done today only thing left to do is some trim but not that important.Next I will tackle the arch and smoke pipe then its just tidying things up and I will be good to go.

Tried to move the head tank into its spot today but we have just enough snow to make it to slick to get up the hill, plus im only working with a loader on an old to-20 we rebuilt a few years ago. Tomorrow is the day the evaporator gets moved into its new home. It will be nice to finally see the king in the castle.

peacemaker, I take it you are going through a divorce. I hope you will find a place to put your evap.

After going to the Winter Maple Conference Friday evening and all day Saturday I returned to the sugarbush today. I finished stringing a new branch line, that will have my first ever sap ladder. I ran about 52 taps on laterals off this branch. Then I started adding laterals to a second new branch, also designed to get a sap ladder but dark ended the day with just 3 laterals and about 17 drops in. The next time I get up there I will resume putting laterals onto this branch. After I finish this branch I will build the 2 sap ladders. From there I need to run 2 more branches, deviding 2 hills into upper and lower branches. The new upper branch will get some new drops as well, in a section previously not feasable to tap because of lateral length. This new branch will run right past them and flow directly to my vacuum tank.
At the maple conference I learned how and got a diagram for pumping out of my vacuum tank without ever shutting the vacuum down. Things are starting to take shape. Still shooting for a ready to tap date in mid Feb. or as soon as the forcast is right after that. Next year I might shoot to be ready to tap Feb 1st.