February journal

Put up tubing on three huge maples today. I tapped these 10 years ago and they ran real well on buckets.
Have some other lines to put up this week to have every thing ready to tap.
I know every one is getting busy.
Chris

I went to look at some tanks today for myself and a couple other syrup makers. The cage tanks had iodine in them. Not sure I want to use them. I found out from the guy that my fellow syrup maker from across town was there yesterday. He bought a few of the tanks and some other nice poly tanks. The guy selling the tanks was an old syrup maker. He has a few SS bulk tanks. I'm buying the 400 gal. tank.

Installed more drop lines and saddles today. Put in my first sap ladder; sap's got to climb about 6'. Getting closer. One more weekend and maybe we'll be ready.

My wife published the website: www.troutbrooksugarhouse.com . Now time to go watch the game!

Greg

Started tapping today. Took all afternoon to get 258 taps in. There is so much snow. Just below my waist, not fun at all. I couldnt believe how good the sap was running. There is absolutly no frost in the ground. Pretty much mud underneath the snow. We will see what tomorow brings us.

I got my vacuum pump in place today. Now I need to plumb it in and get ready to tap. Right now I think I have about 520 -530 taps on that bush. I'll get a good cound when I tap. I keep track of the CV's and get my final tap count from that.

Getting closer. Sap was probably running today but Im not ready yet and it's supposed to get cold for another few weeks. This weekend I didn't get much done because I had to shovel off the house and animal barn roofs. I love having metal on the sugar shack roof. I didn't even touch it and all the snow slid off even the north side. I did manage to work on the evaporator a little bit. I riveted the sides together and marked the stainless so my dad can cut it tonight. I also took off the last two sheets of roofing on the north side of the sugar shack and cut the pine boards off between two rafters for the bigger stack for the new evaporator.

Well Amber Gold and I put some serious miles on the snowshoes this weekend.
Got his woods set for tapping on saturday and strung mainline for my expansion sunday. Nothing like the last moment. Should have 300 taps at least on less than 2 acres. They are odd smooth barked sugars. And I'll be tapping some on a ladder but it should be great. Next weekend is looking warm at this point but I don't believe the weather liars.

Got about 250 tapped yesterday. It is a bear tapping with all the snow and crust, a lot slower than I expected. Putting about half on CV's and half on Lapierre disposables this year. Broke a couple Cv's putting the staubby on, broke the fingers off one side so it must not have been seated properly. Want to get woods all tapped and then size up the weather for just the right time to start hanging buckets. Figure I'll be one switch away (power to the vacuum pump) from sap by the weekend if I do a little after work each day.

well between the two storms we got this week, my sugar roads dissapeared, tried to plow them out with the jd, problem was that even with the blade all the way up i was still pushing 4" and the tractor was hardly moving because the axle was pushing snow, she just couldnt do it, going to have to go get the big 100horse 4x4 fergie and plow em out i gues and do the rest of my logging with that while ive got it for the day, didnt get my tank moved over the weekend, went to glen goodriches maple school on saturday, got home and no more than 10 min after i got home the boss man called and asked me to plow with his other truck, we plowed all night until 10 sunday morning went plowed my drive way attepted to plow the sugar roads, shoveled a roof went back to school and did home work till 11 was up 41 hours straight, got nothing sugaring related done this weekend! oh well i got all next weeks vacation to take care of it, and get tapped! im thinking its about nap time right now

Finished cutting all the stainless for my evaporaotor. Tommorow I'm going to rivet it together and drill the holes for the bolts. I'm waiting on 20 stainless nuts that are coming this week. This weekend I plan to bring my pans to my dads friends house to get a few holes welded and thermometer ports welded on my front pan. Then I need to brick my evaporator, put the stack up, put a few peices of roofing back up, put my head tank up, get bottles, finish puttig up tubing, and then I can tap and make syrup.