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Rise and shine everyone....October is here, the last month before the white stuff begins to fall and we are all scrambling to get things together before tapping...it ain't long coming now. My wood is 90% done, but lots of other jobs to be done...brick new arch, setup new tank...etc can't believe how short the days are getting..
I have to laugh, because last year at this time I had no sugar house, no pipe in the woods, no nothing. We started putting pipe in the woods this week last year and we poured the slab for the sugar house on Oct 7. All I have left for this year is to run the tubing for 2500 trees and build an 8x16 shed to hold a tank and releaser. This year is looking much easier.
Wow is this Oct. or July!!! 77F this morning and very humid!!! monsoon coming in a few hours.
Good luck weathering your monsoon. We had ours last week. 8"of rain in the course of 5 days. Enough side road culverts were washed out that schools were cancelled Friday.
Peak color is at hand and the woods is suffused with that magical aroma only fall can bring.
For whatever reason, my ambition is losing the battle with the workload forthcoming. Could be that as 60 approachs, the thought of less work and responsibility is becoming appealing. Somehow the "sandwich" of 2 kids in college and aging parents doesn't allow for much wiggle room.
Anyway the woodshed needs about 10 more cord to be full, there's plenty of mainline that needs attention after a particularly stormy summer, and those 200 Black Angus sure get an appetite this time of year.
I probably shouldn't get on my soap box, but here goes anyway.
#1. Be careful what you wish for. #2.Take some time to smell the roses everyday.
Rock on fellow Sugar Makers!!
I just submitted some pictures and plans to have some hoods built. Cool temps and fall colors have brought the Maple Bug back! Good luck with all the fall projects and stay safe!
Jim
I wish I had cut down a couple of the oak trees that are over my sugar house. Nothing like a heavy acorn crop, a metal roof and high winds. Sounded like a running gun battle out there last night.
those things acorns hurt too. I was in the woods on monday hanging a little mainline and it was a little breezy and rainy (quite nice for working inthe woods) and they kept pelting me in the head. Shoulda put on my hard hat:rolleyes: a few colors here getting more and more every day I am guessing once we get this little chilly snap on Sunday we should be in the low 40's at night so we should peak next weekend.
Addition is complete, RO is is and I have about 20 cord of seasoned wood under cover. This month I have to plum the RO, set up my big feed tank and start to build a sap ladder for 50-75 taps. I also have to pick up my steam hood and suspend that. I should be in the best shape ever to start a season this year (seems like I say that every year).
Dill, As I was cleaning out the shack I found 2 plugs you can use on that D&G. Let me know what the best way would be to get them to you. I will be at the NYS conference in Verona (January).
Chris
the past few weeks i,ve been building a 10x14 sugarhouse.i have the walls up and the roof pretty well done.i,am sawing my own lumber for it.i,ve also been building a fuel drum arch.i have that pretty well along.
this weekend is busy (youngest nieces wedding) but after that i,ll be full bore on everything maple.
delbert
Mains are all up, tight, and flowing great, same for the lats in the main bush.
Got another 50 taps off the buckets, 20 on the East end, 30 on the west end of the woodlot. Just ran a couple lines of 5/16 in each area to a good pick-up spot. Still need to grade those out, but the hard stuff is done.
Managed to find and/or reach about 15 more taps while stringing up the new stuff, plus another 5 in the main. Trees that just made 10” this year or were too far in to drag my sorry arse back there to fetch a bucket. Tubing is a beautiful thing!
Still leaves me about 40 buckets, but those I can pull the tractor up next to. Don’t mind that in the least, but humping buckets out of the bush is for the birds…or young-uns, if you got ‘em. :lol:
Picking up a new Leader 2X8 next month. Still no shack (next year’s project), but I’m going to pour a slab for the camper to sit on, I’ll throw up a couple of walls and a quick roof over it to get us through next season.
I went to the tubing seminar today at Bascom's. Even though we didn't go outside because of rain, it was still very informative and learned quite a bit.
Tomorrow, going to finish tying up mainline now that I've spent enough money at Bascom's. Sunday will be stringing more wire and mainline.
Opening of deer season starts in PA, wood cutting for syrup about 50% along, tending bees last night I gathered 200+ lb of honey.
Hope things are well in maple land:)
Chris
There is just no break from the weather here to do anything much outside. Rained all summer and so far the fall is the same. Salmon River reached a record breaking level today and was running at 7000cfs at the gates plus all the runoff and feeder streams going into it was an amazing site to see. Water was over the altmar bridge at one point. I went to the south trestle parking lot and can you believe there were idiots fishing in it. I sure hope snowfall is easy on us this year. Not sure how much more wet crap I can handle. Would of hated being a salmon this week.
Just went to the USGS water sight for the salmon river and they have peak waterflow at pineville bridge ( that is not there anymore) at 20,000cfs. WOW average for the fall 750cfs. Put some photos up on my picasa picture page for you salmon guys to look at http://picasaweb.google.com/10410555...UntitledAlbum#
Hope that water level goes down some be for next weekend. im going to be up to winterize the camp and try to do some river fishing.
3rdgen - did you see the vertical crack in the dam on the upper res. Saw some pics on the Salmon Crazy site. Now, that's just scary. I have not been up in a couple of weeks, but wonder how low they brought the res. I heard guys were fishing in parking lots and farm fields. Crazy!
geez rivers only gets that way here in the spring during the thaw/monsoons.
Went to the fair last night. Went to sap house when we first got there and it was packed. So we figured we'd stop by after we got a bite to eat. went back about 1 hour later still packed!!!! Crazy!!! but still got some maple cotton candy:) when we left at like 945 or so it was still busy in there!!! The best thing about the sap house at the fair is the prices, I love it because the prices are not inflated they are what they are supposed to be!!!! Had all the treats warm apple cider, cider donuts, funnel cake, hot choc, wanted apple crisp but the line was too long!!! only spent about $100 usually its more. So expensive anymore to go to the fairs. the kids were a little chilly but a good time was had by all.
38F this morning with a very light frost in some patches of the yard. that should really get the trees going!!!
Cleaned out the wood stove, got the chimney all cleaned, Found a dead bat in the wood stove. don't know how he got in there, there is a spark arrestor on the cap? usually takes me about 25 minutes to take everything apart and clean it ad get it back together. When I first moved I had a company do it $185 for 35 minutes of work. But I didn't have a choice. paid $40 for brush and pole!!! gotta bring in some wood with some chilly days ahead it time!!!
Love this time of year!!!
Waterline says the river is at 2000cfs till midnight monday. From what I understand it is water being released out the snow gates. If that is true then the reservior is still very very high. As far as the crack if you remember the last time that happened they drained the reservior so much you could walk across it with hipboots so the could repair it. And in 37 years living here I have never seen such a bunch of idots fishing this river. The desparation to catch a salmon has turned their brains to jello. These idiots are trying to wade out into the river to catch a fish while they are basically intoxicated from drinking to much beer while drowning their sarrow. It was a wild and sad site to see full grown 100 year old maple trees floating down the river.Quote:
Originally Posted by danno
Closed up shop at the Old Time Apple Harvest Festival at 5 pm yesterday. Only a two day event. Sales was extremely brisk. Sold out of Maple coated nuts on Saturday and Maple Candy by 1 pm on Sunday. Festivals are hard to judge. I could have sold twice as many packages of coated nuts. Maybe next year. Syrup sales was very brisk also. Customers was shopping for christmas gifts. Met several people who in the past make some syrup for themselves and some who have helped others make syrup. Always meet people that have no idea how Maple Syrup is made. We always give a sample taste of the syrup I have for sale. That helps move product always.
Mark 220 Maple
Got the rest of the mainline branches up still have to put the ladders together and a few more ball valves and then re- direct the laterals put in saddles and should be all set. Hopefully Iwill be building the platform for the holding tank in 2 weeks.
Signed on for a six week class of bee kepping with the seacoast NH bee Assoc. classes start tomorrow. and signed up for the year for the assoc. as well.
Got 6 more chickens and a rooster. got 15 layers all together. so getting plenty of eggs to sell.
Syrup levels very low. but its selling like crazy!!! :) had about 4 gallons of commercial. decided to bottle it up. sold all but 1 gallon. people love it because you can't get it. and its not bad tasting either. it has just enough off flavors that I won't qualify it as B. and its flying out the door. And got an offer to sell my syrup at an x-mas tree farm starting nov. 27th we'll see what I have left by then.
Brad,
Love your sugarhouse! Nice web page! I like the pleated sides on the arch!
Regards,
Chris
Those pleated sides are a trade mark of Patricks. He told me how he makes them and does it all my hand bending them. Told me it was the longest process of the build. They really make the arch stand out for sure. One of the reasons I bought mine. I got to agree Reds got a great looking sugarhouse.
Thanks guys as usual though I wish the SH was bigger!!! but sooner or later I will add on to the back. I would love another 6-10 feetback there. The site is coming along. I am by no means an english major, its my weakest subject by far. I have to have the wife proof read everything. If I don't it is usually bad!!!
When I first took a look at this rig I loved the workmanship the pleated sides, and beautiful welding are just the extra little things that makes it look that good. I try to wipe it down as soon as its cool enough. I hate when I get little sugar spots on the draw off side, can't really avoid it. the only thing is a little blueing of the metal where the firebox joins up with the arch a little too much heat right there.
We have had a Patrick Phaneuf for about 5 years. I went to see it when he was building it in Ste. Marguerite, Quebec. It's only a couple of hours away from here. He dropped it off on the way to his family's vacation at Old Orchard beach. Everyone from Quebec goes down there for summer vacation.
It's been working for us for a bunch of years. It even took a bullet and keeps on going. "Patrick" is the hardest working evaporator on our hill.
When he gets going we get around 40 gph.
The front heats up and the hot seat lives up to it's name.
Whoever is stoking the fire is on the "hot seat"
On cold days we fight for that chair.
yes the front can get red now and again. but I put insulation on the doors helps out a bunch!!! and yes thats the place top be on cold days. but if its a warm day and your feeding that baby its def. not the place to be unless your in shorts and T shirt then you get sun burn on your legs but just in the front:D
I go to old orchard beach now and again. haven't been there in in a bit. but there are always quebec Plates around there.
We got the wire and mainline strung for the dryline in our upper bush on Sunday. Some of the SS fittings are cut in, the rest we'll do this weekend. Had to cut 2 downed tree limbs off the mainline but they bounced back
I'm really looking forward to the increased production from that bush!
Waiting for the ran to stop to get out and run some wire and tubing.
I have been busy tying up loose ends. I am running out of time the days are sure getting shorter fast!!
Got some help on Sunday...amazing how much more gets done in a shorter time. I got up a 700' mainline and ran the wire and pipe for a 900' mainline, but didn't have time to put it up. Good thing because I've changed my mind and decided to run maple mainline because it's on a hedgerow with fields on both sides. I figure I should run the blue stuff to keep pipe temps down. I'm wishing I had run a 700' mainline in blue that will likely get a lot of sun, but it's already up and tied off.
The last of the mainline will be up this weekend. Also making cider on Saturday. Weather's looking perfect.
started Bee school tonight first one. Over in Lee. 5 more weeks to go. very informative. funny thing The contact person that was setting up and organizing lives down the street from me. She stopped at the stand to get some syrup and I had called to leave her a message to pre register for the bee school. when I went out to check the stand she had paid by check and so I saw her name. Said hey wait a minute same person. Just thought that was funny. Small world!!! I knew her from maple weekend last season she stopped in but I saw so many people I didn't remember her name!!!
Finished running water and eletrical conduit to the sugar shack and backfilled the ditch in the past week. Also today I graded the gravel twords the drain in the floor so I can pour concrete as soon as my dads shop is ready too. The evaporator is still in peices and there isnt any tubing up yet. The coopula isnt flashed and I need to run a bigger smokestack through the roof. The good thing is The wood is done! I have a lot to do in the next 4-5 months.
Brad,
Have fun with the bees next year!
Chris
i know we like pictures so,heres what i,ve been building.. it,s 10x14 feet and yes,it,s just to start with...i,am planning on putting a ro in here in a couple years and building a diffrent sugarhouse for my 4x14 arch
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/medi...rhouse1010.jpg
delbert
Nice Sugarshack! That will make one nice RO room also.
What size evap are you putting in there?
Got Marvin cleaned up for the year with a littel help from some friends last night...Did the acid boil,,wow,,pretty darn shinney agine...did a littel boil agine today and really scrubbed the rig down,,then drained...got the syrup pan dissconected and will remove from arch next time someone is around,,,lift the flue pan and get to work on arch mods....
fuel drum arch with two 2x3 pans..i,am working on that too..i,ll post pic,s soon.
delbert
I'd plan on a concrete floor for the whole sugarhouse when you get the 4X14 and RO otherwise for the fuel drum arch that building is going to be good
Keith
Split and stacked a 1/2 cord of pine today. Hopefully I'll do a few more cords because I have a long weekend. I have Monday and tuesday off of school.
BROOK,I already have a plan for the bigger sugarhoue and yes!! it has a cement floor.i built this one so it could be moved if need be.it,ll be all insulated and even have the inside finished.
i plan on putting pressure treated plywood down where the arch will set and pouring concrect over that..i,ll use 2x4,s to make a form.i,am also planning on making a moveable woodshed and a moveable shed for the 500 gallon storage tank i have.i have everything planned out i just need the time to do it.
delbert
Parker, what are you doing to Marvin for next season?
The honey part of this hobby business kicked in about 200 + Lb of nice golden rod ,aster, and late clover honey. Its all extracted and will be ready for canning into glass and plastic containers.
Cut a little syrup wood on Saturday and watched for whitetails for several hours too.
Chris
th last two days i,ve sawed more lumber for the siding on my sugarhouse and put it on it,s beginning to look like something.
delbert