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Thread: Vernon County

  1. #31
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    West branch Kickapoo River Valley, Southwestern Wisconsin
    Posts
    192

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    Hi all fellow sappers, today I was up at Maple Hollow in Merrill picked up 25 new spouts and supplies. They thought I should tap asap with this warming trend, but it looks like February 27th for us, hope we dont miss the first run. its always a gamble when to tap using buckets on trees. hope to hear from you all, stay safe and God bless.
    12x16 Sugar House 2x6 Maple Pro wood fired evaporator Arctic Cat 4x4 1980 Snowmobile 225 taps on buckets 17 Taps on 3/16th tubing on steep hillside

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Wisconsin -Vernon County
    Posts
    43

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    Happy 2016 and a new season. Me and dog going to "farm" this weekend to tap. Looking at 30-40 trees. Pails on taps. Will split some wood and get outdoor pan, stand, cinder block and insulating firebrick ready for the boil. Small yield, (3-4 gallons?) but enough for the Christmas baskets my wife makes every year,...telling stories of "maple syrup from our farm". Ha! She'll be in Florida with her women-friends! Me and the dog,...tapping and boiling by the fire,..oh yeah. Good Luck and have fun everyone.

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

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    Good evening Mr. Sugar Maple,

    I don't get up to Merrill much these days. Used to live further up highway 17 near Gleason. But, a farm along the Wisconsin River by Irma is where relatives have a pretty good size syrup operation. I will never get that big and fear it would cease being fun and much more along the lines of "work." I'll be checking in to see how your season goes. Enjoyed a nice relaxing start to my season - will see what next week brings.
    2019 47 taps and 10.75 gallons of syrup
    2020 45 taps and 21.25 gallons of syrup
    2021 50 taps and 13.5 gallons of syrup
    2022 50 taps and 18.5 gallons of syrup
    2023 49 taps and 18 gallons of syrup
    2024 49 taps and 9.75 gallons of syrup

    56 acres above the Mississippi River in SW Wisconsin
    43.01N

  4. #34
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

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    Hi Tom,

    Good to see you are at the "farm" and jumping in to the season. While I had my taps in all week, it took a few days for the trees to cooperate and then it was only with low test sap. Enjoy the weekend with man's best friend. Will be checking in to see your results.
    2019 47 taps and 10.75 gallons of syrup
    2020 45 taps and 21.25 gallons of syrup
    2021 50 taps and 13.5 gallons of syrup
    2022 50 taps and 18.5 gallons of syrup
    2023 49 taps and 18 gallons of syrup
    2024 49 taps and 9.75 gallons of syrup

    56 acres above the Mississippi River in SW Wisconsin
    43.01N

  5. #35
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Wisconsin -Vernon County
    Posts
    43

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    Hello Irish Ridge Wood Loader & others,

    I am with you - 30-40 taps are fun, like anything, once you get going bigger (understand greater efficiency and all that) it changes into work. I figure I work all week (in corporate America -downtown Milwaukee of all places ) so weekends getting 3-4 gallons for family & friends makes this more fun than anything else. Tapped 30 in Vernon County Saturday - heaven in those hills! Dog was fetching deer antler sheds out of snow here and there. Sap running out of every tap. Tapped my two big maples at home (Waukesha County) today and were dry - usually these two produce 15 gallons of sap each.
    It looks colder this week - so not expecting a lot - but will be ready to boil any weekend I have enough. Keep in touch ~
    Tom

  6. #36
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    West branch Kickapoo River Valley, Southwestern Wisconsin
    Posts
    192

    Default

    Hi Tom and Irish Ridge I like you decided to tap on Saturday,my son,a buddy of ours and my 12 year old grandson we put in 226 taps , The time in the woods is priceless, saw bluebirds checking out our bluebird houses. also a bat was sleeping on the top edge of our shed door, a bit early for bats i think.That sure seems spring like, talked to the neighbor he had three bats on the side of his house. We did struggle with the snow on the ridge road, the snowmobile could not make it up the steepest part pulling a load of pails, would spin out down to ice. so i had to pull the sled up 100 feet by hand then turn the snowmobile around go back down the road and shoot back up to the otter sled, hook up and continue up to the top.Most of the trees were dripping some with the best ones by the field edge.Sunday my grandson and i took our two 100 gal tanks up top, the snowmobile went up easy with the air temp 30 degrees. Tom Waukesha County is quite a drive, I live in Lodi about 80 miles each way for me. But the Occoch Mountains are worth the trip. Thanks for your posts, yes keep in touch.
    12x16 Sugar House 2x6 Maple Pro wood fired evaporator Arctic Cat 4x4 1980 Snowmobile 225 taps on buckets 17 Taps on 3/16th tubing on steep hillside

  7. #37
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    West branch Kickapoo River Valley, Southwestern Wisconsin
    Posts
    192

    Default

    Hi guys, went to our sugar bush today to gather sap from our Saturdays tree tapping. was surprised with the amount of sap, all had some sap some three gallon pails were overflowing. had a total of 205 gallons. will evaporate on Saturday, I put the sap in two bulk tanks up top. On my ride home I checked out two other sappers, they have not started yet they missed a good run glad we tapped already. Thanks Irish Ridge for your posts. they motivated me to get started. 1-2 inches of snow in the sugar bush up top, 4-6 inches of snow on our ridge road and in the valley. millions of snow fleas that love white pail lids, a few moths, spiders
    12x16 Sugar House 2x6 Maple Pro wood fired evaporator Arctic Cat 4x4 1980 Snowmobile 225 taps on buckets 17 Taps on 3/16th tubing on steep hillside

  8. #38
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

    Default

    Wow, good results from Vernon. Glad you have those same fleas I do. They are thick by me this spring. My best trees right now are down hill of some small springs and oddly enough my best tree has a spring coming out of the ground right at its roots. Boiling again in the morning (Friday). With my 54 tap operation I am glad I also jumped in early. On a side note, put up a wood duck house by the pond yesterday; cleaning the blue birds houses is my next project.
    2019 47 taps and 10.75 gallons of syrup
    2020 45 taps and 21.25 gallons of syrup
    2021 50 taps and 13.5 gallons of syrup
    2022 50 taps and 18.5 gallons of syrup
    2023 49 taps and 18 gallons of syrup
    2024 49 taps and 9.75 gallons of syrup

    56 acres above the Mississippi River in SW Wisconsin
    43.01N

  9. #39
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    ontario wi
    Posts
    3

    Default

    Hello.

    I put in a couple of taps last Sunday, I missed the run on Tuesday and got 25 in on Wednesday. I'm picking up an IBC tonight and am going to try to get another 25 taps in next week.

  10. #40
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Wisconsin -Vernon County
    Posts
    43

    Default

    Hello,

    Only able to do this on weekends, outside, over a cinder block/insulating firebrick wood fire. Collected 40 gallons of sap on 29 trees. Hoped to boil it all, but sometimes you take a beating. Cinder blocks on melting frost caused IFBs to collapse around 3 PM. Spent Sunday rebuilding firebox. Inventoried the bush, took 3 gallons of concentrate home to finish on kitchen stove. Have 160 gallons ready for Saturday, with reinforcements (Son-in-Law) coming. The weather is helping me out keeping the sap in the woods cold. Some guys watch basketball, shoot pool, play cards, go south,..I do this. Wouldn't change a thing. Good luck folks!
    Tom

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