Western New York

[lyford]

Buds on sugars? Not cool, I only tap about 20 sugars and those buds are still small, the reds have swollen some, and I've seen a few silvers around that are in full bloom.

[wnybassman]

Well, they are not open, but very very swollen and soft. Showing a little green too. That is from my big yard tree that I can reach the branches on.

[mudr]

Dang

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[MapleMark753]

Our Sugars and Black maples still have small and tight buds, no sign of swelling as of yesterday. Our silvers have budded, like others have noted too.

Question: Has anybody ever made straight up dark, no off flavors, BUT with nearly zero maple flavor? Happened for the first time ever here. Don't know what to make of it really. I will jug it up today, and mark each with a small symbol on the bottom and in the log book.

[Urban Sugarmaker]

I tap a few reds and they are done for the season for me. They might still be okay but I'm not risking it. Many of the sugars are still tight but a couple have swelling buds and one is definitely budding. I tried to take a picture but the camera on my phone wouldn't focus on it.

I am over 1100 gallons of sap this season which is about 65% crop if you figure 10 gallons per tap on gravity. I think I will get a good run next week but after that the forecast is not showing any freezes and there's more weather in the mid 50s.

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[Revi]

Wow! I used to live in Western NY, and the trees didn't bud until at least the beginning of April. What has happened? I used to live in Alfred, NY, (which is higher up in elevation) and in Syracuse. Is this normal?

[Urban Sugarmaker]

Wow! I used to live in Western NY, and the trees didn't bud until at least the beginning of April. What has happened? I used to live in Alfred, NY and in Syracuse.

Too many days in the 60s. Again, only one tree out of 80 is budding. The reds don't surprise me at all but that one sugar does considering the others seem to know it's still a little early.

[YBSean]

Weather extremes are the new normal and that's not the only change in Upstate NY. We are at 1,600 ft elevation on the Allegheny Plateau and have pulled 2 ticks off us this year, 1 biting, while collecting sap in February with snow on the ground!

[Marlin]

I tap a few reds and they are done for the season for me. They might still be okay but I'm not risking it. Many of the sugars are still tight but a couple have swelling buds and one is definitely budding. I tried to take a picture but the camera on my phone wouldn't focus on it.

Probably a good idea since you have the option. I have mostly reds, so I can't do that, but in the last 3 seasons they have never gotten "buddy" -- they always just dry up first. The sugars keep going and might get buddy, but I don't have enough of them to make it worth continuing when the reds are done, so I pull all the taps at the same time.

Of course, my operation is pretty small, so maybe I'm just getting lucky with the few trees that I have.

[grizzlym]

Who has the tank on route 98 in Attica, near the cemetery? My brother said it was flowing over this morning. Hopefully someone pumped it before I posted this.