May Journal

[sugarsand]

We"re also on the hunt for cheap used bulk tanks. With scrap metal prices so high most bulk tanks don"t have a chance to make to the sugar bush.

sugarsand

[Sugarmaker]

Hi,
Have been busy like everyone else. some highlights after a good maple season.
Just got a new pup her name is Maggie she is 13 weeks old, Golden Retriever.
Getting real close to owning a antique tractor, a 1953 Ford Jubilee.
Restored a trailer to haul wood.
Wood lot behind or house has been clear cut.
Have 10 bundles of maple slab wood for making syrup in the next year or so.
Planted a good size garden and turned over some ground 60 feet x 90 feet for sweet corn and pumpkins.
Move the daughter and son-in-law to withing 5 miles of us on a big farm.
Keeping busy with Cub projects, have 1971 model 147 and 5 implements ready for show this summer.

Hope things are good in Maple land.
Regards,
Chris

[PATheron]

Busy down here too since season. One boy in a shooting team that shoots two or three days a week. Been busy with him. They shoot bow, muzzleloader, shotgun and 22. Pretty neat deal. All wrapped up from this years season other than having to jug a barrell of syrup for myself. Got permission to tap a lot more trees on my furthest sugarbush this year and have been working on that with my boys. Have about 500 new taps hooked up already just need to do mainline connections and drops. Theres probly a 1000 more I can get but probly wont do all them this year. Just running lines to the nicest for now. Gonna quit running new ones pretty soon and go back through my existiing system and finetune somethings. Most of my tubing is 5 years old now and I like to keep up with the maintainance and keep it working good. Thats about it. Hope everyone having a good summer. Sounds like next couple winters going to be extra cold. Probly have lots of time to tap in and hook up new trees and such. Theyre predicting old fashion winters next three years like we had in the seventys. Might be easier that way with more normal seasons and not starting in January and going so long like it has been lately. Theron

[ennismaple]

Theron - Good to hear from you again! I was afraid you'd fallen off the face of the earth... or gotten sucked into a Zero tank!

Sales have been very strong this year - I think because people know there was a bad harvest this year and they're stocking up. Some of our new wholesale customers have been doing very well with sales too. It won't be hard to retail/wholesale every drop we made this year!

I've been to one farmer's market so far and sales were strong. i have a friend's teenage daughter trained to work the booth for me so that should free up some time on Saturdays to get other things done.

The Beast got a good bath on Sunday. After soaking it in sap for 10 weeks it was pretty ripe in the sugar camp. A few hours of rinsing, pressure washing and scrubbing later it looks as good as new - and smells better too!

The one upside of the poor season is there's not much wood to cut and split this year. We've had a few trees come down in the last couple of months plus what we cut last winter should be more than enough.

We've got our plans in place to add another 200-300 taps in our new bush. The taps simply add on to the end of an existing mainline and we already have the mainline and tanks so it's just a matter of laying out the mainlines and stretching 5/16" tubing.

[Revi]

I planted a small garden and was going to fill the woodshed until a robin made a nest on it. Had to wait until the fledglings had left the nest before getting next year's wood. My wife decided to feed them some worms, and had one dangling over one of the chicks' mouth. The mother and father robin went ballistic. They are gone now, so I guess I have no excuse not to get wood.

[GeneralStark]

I planted a small garden and was going to fill the woodshed until a robin made a nest on it. Had to wait until the fledglings had left the nest before getting next year's wood. My wife decided to feed them some worms, and had one dangling over one of the chicks' mouth. The mother and father robin went ballistic. They are gone now, so I guess I have no excuse not to get wood.

The same thing has happened here the last two years. Last year they had two sets of chicks, the second right after the first and they kept me out of the woodshed for several weeks.

[220 maple]

Went to Brandonburg, Kentucky over the holiday weekend, neice's wedding. Visited a family near there that makes syrup, they said they did real well considering the weather wasn't perfect for making syrup. Made and sold several pints, and are looking foward to next spring since they will have more help since their daughter and son in law have moved next door.

Mark 220 Maple

[PATheron]

Marty- Havent been accidently sucked through the sap lines. I get on and check things out time to time. Just Usually keep to myself till season then I get on and get everyone pumped up. Theron