New December Journal

Ok everyone, I'm sorry, in deleting many posts in this thread I accidentally deleted the whole shabang... it's only the 10th of December so lets start fresh!!

Again I apologize for the lost posts, but for the most part it wasn't much to read.

Guys- I like to hear what everyone is doing new before the season becouse sometimes you get good ideas from it and its fun to kind of share in the excitement of it when season comes. Anyone wants to post what there doing new for the year, tinker on the evap, more taps, streamline something, I like to hear about that kind of thing. Also what you have left to do before season. Maybe itll make me feel better about all the work I have left to do. Just fun to hear about that stuff. If anyone is just trying vac thats fun to hear about becouse I can tell you from experiance last year thatll be exciting. Theron

Only a few days left for me to hunt. Then I got to get my act together. I still have a few details to clean up on the rig. Mostly, supporting my steam stack so it doesn't blow down. Plan on tapping the first warm spell in Feburary.

Anybody in western PA have about a 100 gal. poly tank? I'm thinking I could use a little storage:)

TTHHE(NOTGONNAHAVEENOUGHBARRELS)RROONNN- This ought to make you feel better about where you are at,,,I have to get another 16 cords (of dry wood) in the sugarhouse,,rebuild the airtight front I want to put on Marvin and install, havent been in the woods since september, I am sure there is a weeks work just to fix what I had last year,,set up the 5 600-1200 gallon feed-storage tanks I have above the sugarhouse and build covers for them-plumb the together,,,think there is some other stuff,,just cant think of it now,,,,,we will get it-in one form or another-always do,,,

I've been a member of this forum since March or so and never realized there were monthly journals until yesterday. Interesting reading seeing where people are at each month.

I have to finish running laterals and drops, 2-300' of mainline with wire; transport, cut, stack 4-5 chord slab pine; build barn doors, finish getting my evap. ready, build shelving and a bench, wire, and etc. I figure I'll be done just in time for maple season. Perfect.

I am installing vacuum for my first year of sugaring. Looking forward to sap ladders and having everything end up in one tank. It's going to be great having a 15 min. collection time and never mind all the BIGSAP I'll get.

Its been a while since i posted anything in the journal. So here goes. This summer I cut and split 31 full cords of sugar wood. yes 3968cu.ft. 90% by myself. I also have hung 1900 ft of trunk line and 3,200 ft of 3/4 mainline. when it is finished I should have around 1500 taps. I am adding 500 this year, and will add the rest next year. Which sould bring my tap count to some where near 2400 taps. I have sold all my poly tanks except for my transport tanks. I have added an 500,800,and a 1000 gal milk tanks. With all of them together with out the buckets i should have over 5000 gal of storage. I have the same plan as last year and that is to always have sap waiting on me. Except for a few glitches it worked well for me last year and I am in the process of ironing out the wrinkles.

Hey Dave Y good to see that your still around, Sounds like you were busy this year.

I gave a maple sugarin' talk at my parents Grange Meeting last night, I think it went quit well. I found that they were all surprised that I can make syrup around here, and that they didn't know you can tap almost any kind of maple tree.

It was pretty cool seeing their amazement.

I did get my name out there, that way if I have enough syrup I would like to sell syrup locally.

I had one quy walk up to me afterwards and told me that he had some maples and if I wanted I was more than welocme to tap them, wow. For as much as I would like to do that this year I will have to wait till next year.

I even got the word out there that I was looking for some milk tanks and a dairy pump, I had a lady tell me that I was a few months late they just sold two for almost nothing, but I got my feelers out there now so I sould be able to come upon a tank by next year.

Dennis H.
Congrats on the presentation. There is nothing more important to a suucessful business than public education. And not the kind you get at the public school!

I am not the kind of person to get up in front of people I don't know and talk about something, even if it is a fun hobby like Sugarin'.

I was asked while I was there if I would like to talk at a Lions Club meeting in the spring! I told them I would hhave to ponder on it. I mean for-goodness-sake this is only my second season making maple syrup. I am far from an expert. But I might have to take one for the team and do it to get my name out there somemore, right??