Okay nature, I'll bite.

[Tithis]

Decided to start tapping today. Forcast looks like we should get some sapflow and I can't remember any day so far this winter that actually turned out colder than they predicted

So I put out 11 taps today. All 10 of my sugar maples are tapped and were dripping pretty good. The Norway maple in our front yard was dripping good and the red maple I tapped was doing nothing

So here are the big 3. With 9 of my 18 taps going to these guys so I'm really betting on them. The owner is a nice older gentlemen who was quite happy to let me tap them. While I was tapping he even brought his granddaughter out to see and I gave her a taste of the sap.


These 2 are from our nextdoor neighbor. First is a sugar maple and the other is the only red maple I tapped today(got anouther 5 reds to tap on a family members property)

[GramaCindy]

It looks SO odd to see no snow. Good luck! Hope your sap is plentiful and 3%

[crawflyer]

you are right about the weather forecasts. I shut down and flushed my rig 2 days ago based on the forecast, highs of 31or so for the next 8 or so days and today it was sunny and 47. gathered 53 gallons from 53 taps. anyone need some sap?

[Fishgill]

Good luck. I'm gonna tap any day now, maybe Sunday.

[Tithis]

It looks SO odd to see no snow. Good luck! Hope your sap is plentiful and 3%

It really is odd and quite disappointing. I personally love snow and I'll often go and take long walks during nor'easters. This winter has sucked for snow with the only good storm being the one in October, and the damage caused by it kinda ruined the whole thing (70ft pine crushed out pool, no power for days and so many trees damaged)

When I go out to collect sap tomorrow I'll be testing for sugar. Only tree I've tested so far was our norway which has been giving 2%

[Tithis]

Did a sugar test today. The 3 big sugar maples all tested between 1.5% and 2%. That was a little disappointing, I was expecting more with them being so large. Probably by tonight each tap will have given me a gallon since I tapped yesterday afternoon.

Surprisingly our little norway maple was giving 2.25%.

[Tithis]

Boiled yesterday and got about 1/2 gallon of light or medium amber off of 20 gallons of sap.

[eustis22]

Boiling this afternoon evening, maybe 25 gallons...remind to get the camping lantern out

[Tithis]

One of those would have been useful last night. I got all of the on evaporating boiling done before it got dark but finishing took quite awhile and I did that on a hotplate outside. Near the end I was wearing my fathers headlamp.

Hoping for anouther decent run over the next couple of days.

[Tithis]

Finishing the 3rd boil on the hotplate today, I did the main boiling yesterday. From my first two boils I got around a gallon of finished syrup, about as much as I got from all of last year.

Received my bottles from Bascom so once this next batch is finished I'll be working on getting the syrup through the final filter and then bottling it.

I pulled the tap and bucket off of one of the red maples a few days ago. Through the entire season I couldn't have gotten more than a few ounces of dark yellow sap from that tree. I move it to another red maple that could support another tap and was at least producing something. Only one of the red maples has been able to keep up with the sugars.

Its kinda funny, I keep telling myself I'm going to try selling a limited amount to help cover the costs of supplies and such, but the more I make the more I want to keep for myself. I mostly use my syrup for oatmeal but I want to make maple sugar pie this year for Easter, some for making my own bacon and possibly some for hickory nut pie for Thanksgiving (the owner of the 3 big sugar maples I'm tapping offered to let me collect hickory and black walnuts in the fall. I'm not sure if I'll take up the offer for the black walnuts but I've read shagback hickories have decent nuts and my step-grandmother has a few good sized ones in her yard nearby as well)