Willow Creek Sugarhouse 2011

[red maples]

OK...Looks like it time to get this one started.

If all goes right I should start tapping Saturday morning. Should be able to finish up all tapping by Sunday and fine tune on monday then start on leak detail, monitoring tubing and vac. levels.

[morningstarfarm]

woohoo..go get em bud...if the early signs are right this looks like its gonna be a good year.. may your weekend really "suck"

[red maples]

I hope so man. Right back at you may your weekend really flow!!!

Finished everything I need to finish outside today(except cleaning the tanks) gonna be chilly. Tomorrow so will spend remainder of the time inside organiziging, cleaning etc inside the sugar house!!!! where hopefully I can get it warm enough to be at least be sorta comfortable!!!

[red maples]

I'm gonna be already by saturday incase the weather turns for the better but I think I will start on monday instead of saturday!!! that will give me 3 days to tap I am sure its gonna take more time based on the amount of snow anyway. No warm up until thursday of next week as of today anyway but that could change at any moment!!!

[morningstarfarm]

why do I keep hearing the theme from deadliest catch every time I read a post about getting started..lol actually, I hear it every time I go into the sugar house...

[red maples]

thats funny....When does the new season start??? Waiting to see how Capt. Phil's kids make out!!!

[S Culver]

Think those kids fought before wait till you see probate. One will end up with the pots and one with the boat and they will go broke standing on the dock refusing to look at each other. I knew of two people down in St John that bought a boat then got in a fight, cut the boat in half and flipped for it to see who got the front and who got the back with the ( outboard) motor. I'm not making this up!!!. As a kid I rememder the guy with the front tooling around in a really short boat.

[red maples]

Well its been quite a lousy week!!!

1. my Wife got bit by a ferrel barn cat last weekend. Was a good bite emergency room the works. had to got through the rabbies ordeal and everything + she had a bad week at work on top of the cat thing!!!

2. my daughter had a nice stomach bug poor kid had it coming out of both ends.

3. my son got strept throat.

4 I got the stomoach bug was off and on the toilet all night last night.

But I am doing better gonna go out to the sugar house for a few hours for some cleaning.

Still planning starting to tap tomorrow. ervything is almost ready anyway got alot done last weekend thank goodness!!!

[red maples]

thanks to maple leaf sold off my 2 stock tanks...had that money in my hand for 45minutes. stopped at the hardware store to pick up a float swtich and a Propane space heater for the sugarhouse. money gone!!!! oh well in 1 hand out the other.

Gettin started today want to have 75 to 100 taps done today. low number but I wanna get some more stuff done inside the SH.

TIME TO GO!!!!

[red maples]

100 taps done. found 1 squirrel chew I might have to fix but once I get the vac going we'll know for sure. Came across 2 hollow. I think 1 was hollow last year and I must of missed the other 1, oh well more firewood come summer

checked everything in sugarhouse for leaks flooded system with water. a few little bugs to workout but no leaks. Bigger line into into float box huge difference. (3/4 to 1-1/4) shouldn't have any pressure issues this year.

Tanks are all clean, ready to go.

Brought in the releaser for a good cleaning tonight. get that hooked up tomorrow. I put ball valves in on each branch of mainlines so I could separate everything out. Right now I have 1.75 sections done so I can get those running on vac tomorrow. they are saying 42* so might have a little run tomorrow I hope.

Then hopefully finish the rest of the Vac taps tomorrow.

then on to the buckets and gravity lines hopefully we'll have those done on wednesday. for the BIG RUN on thursday.