Sweet and Sour Dill 2012

[Amber Gold]

You can make syrup from oaks...interesting.

We got a decent run yesterday. We started the day w/ >300 gal, about 200 gal of it is from yesterday. Sap started running today about noon time.

[Marc Duclos]

Hay Josh Marc from Deerfield, what dose the Atlantic Fluidics A10 lr vacuum pump run on gas or electric?

[Dill]

He runs that pump on 220 electric.

[Dill]

Well the season has officially started for me, the reason later.
I collected 750 gallons off the vac bush in 24 hours, the best run I've ever got out of there. I was going to spend yesterday afternoon at the office until I checked at noon and found an overflowing tank. I boiled from 1 to midnight, which means I need a bigger rig or an RO. Botttled 5 gallons, ran out of jugs and left the rest in the canner.
But how do I know the season is offically running? Blue lights in the driveway for the 3rd year in a row. Last year no blue lights just a an officer at the door. This year it was everything short of a siren which if it wasn't 11 pm, we probably would have got a siren.
Nothing however is better is than listening to a cop, yelling in his radio "Possible Chimney fire, headed to residence now to alert homeowners!!!!" and then 5 seconds later "Dispatch ignore that fire, its a sugarhouse". For some reason they never yell that 2nd part.

[Dill]

Had my best run of boiling last night, picked up 200 gallons at 2 from the vac bush, lit the fire at 2:30. I dug through the woodshed back to my special reserve of 2 year old slabs. Picked up another 200 gallons at 5. And had it all gone by 12:20, which I think is pretty **** good on a 2x6. I had the doors glowing and 4ft of fire out of the stack.
I've just hit 20 gallons for the season, which is about 1/3 of my usual crop, but I think we are done this week. The sap was running hard this morning I picked up another 200 gallons that I had to bring to Josh. But the flow has dropped right off even with the vac. And I saw my first buds, heck they were almost leaves up in Concord yesterday.

[red maples]

yeah pretty much done here too we might get a frost wed and thursday night but heard a lone pepper today. Sap is very cloudy white tasts a bit nasty right from the releaser syrup seemed OK but I drew it off a little light by mistake so we'll see how it tastes after its done. but there is just no sugar I boiled off close to 275 gallons today and have 2.5 gallons ot show for it. it was just barely trickling on this morning. so I shut her down.

[Dill]

Today was one of those odd vac days. I started pulling the gravity taps around noon, some of the holes were still wet, but nothing had run into the tank.
I had checked on the vac tank at noon and there was about 50 gallons in there. By 4 is was 79 out, and I had 200 gallons in the tank. Left the pump on tonight there might be enough to boil tomorrow.
The sugar house was more of a sauna today. Must have been 100 in there at least. Spent a couple hours sitting out front the shack while I boiled.