Willow Creek Sugarhouse 2016!!!

[red maples]

Well I don't think I have been on here since the end of last season. Its Been a Crazy busy year... I wish it was spent expanding maple stuff.

The way the extended forecast looks we might be tapping here VERY soon. This going to be a little more challenging for me since I tore my bicep muscle wrestling a moose... no just kidding, I didn't listen to my wife and well... just kidding again... I was curling a Christmas tree, putting it in that back of the truck and extended twisted funny and POP. hurt like hell.

I had it fixed on the 28th of December and I am on the mend. So tapping will begin next weekend for me and be slow and steady. I will be 4 weeks into recovery Monday and can't lift anything for a total of 8 weeks. Thank goodness things are more automated in the sugar house there won;t be too much need for lifting. So I am gonna start with the sugarhouse this week and do what I can do cleaning and stuff since I still have to be in a sling and then next weekend I will be out in the woods. just going slow.

I was hoping it would be a late season again like the last 2 years but no such luck.

Guess its time to get this season underway!!! Charge up the Drills!!!
Hope everyone has a bumper crop of a season.

[red maples]

Well I was hoping that this was just a thaw but looks like it is gonna be in the 40's here straight through until next weekend. then a little freeze up then scattered upper 30's 40's here and there. no real cold stretches in the forecast. but we all know that can change. but might as well get some syrup while I can.

Got a few things to fix tomorrow morning starting at day break should take me an hour or 2 (I hope) then I start drilling!!! I am hoping I can be finished up by sunday night or at the latest monday afternoon. then we start chasing leaks and let the lines clear up. gonna get the RO put together and cleaned out on Sunday night maybe. hopefully be ready to go by tuesday maybe sweeten the pans wed. a few long nights ahead of me.

The good news is my sling is off my arm. but man its tired. it has shrunk a bit from being in a sling for 4 weeks!!! Still no heavy lifting until early march!!!

[Sugarmaker]

Brad,
Hope the arm gets better quick. Be careful lots of moves to make syrup. Time to call in some friends.
Regards,
Chris

[derekp]

Brad, I feel your pain!two weeks ago I blew out my shoulder in a freak hockey injury...tore a few tendons that hold my AC joint together...10 week recovery..I too just got out of my sling and was advised to not to use my arm at all...not the way sugaring season is supposed to start!! Hope you heal well! I'm sure we will make the best of it!!

[red maples]

oh man that such worse than I think. I can still use my arm a little Doc recommended it got get tendons and joints working again, some pretty bad hand and forearm cramps, limit lifting to 3lbs max once in while. yeah its already tough. did manage to get 250 taps in yesterday and can fix little tubing issues with one handed tubing tool. I am gonna have to hire my wife to help me with a couple spots using the 2 handed tool. thank goodness there arent't too many. a couple of trees down. guessing from the wind a few weeks ago. normally I would just grab the chainsaw but that would be a little dangerous one handed!!! but slow and steady. should be able to finish up tubing today. buckets won;t go up for a few weeks yet. This will be the practice week...

[red maples]

Well not too bad, ended up getting in 450 taps the past 2 days. I could have finished but I had to fix 2 sections of main line that were on the ground. Still have to fix the laterals as they are messed up a little since the side ties changed and there is now slack in them. Sap aint really running very good anyway. no freeze again tonight. We'll see how the week plays out. I am beat I was gonna do the RO tonight but I am too tired besides work I have been sitting on my butt for the past 4 weeks. I will do some other things!!! the sugarhouse is trashed!!! it will get there!!!

Such a completely different year than last year!!! Wow... doesn;t feel like its still January!!!

[Russell Lampron]

Ouch!!! Sorry to hear about that Brad. It sure is hard to get things done when you are hurting. I sprained one of my ankles last September. It is pretty much healed but gets sore when I'm walking in the woods. It's a good thing that we don't have to tap on snowshoes this year.

[red maples]

yes definitely not a snowshoe year.

Well I still have about 30+ taps to get in but going with what I have right now.

got the Vac pump all set and releaser good and clean out got everything running on monday night.

Tuesday Everything went on the ground to get system cleaned out. got home from work and had 10" of Hg. So instead of tapping the rest I fixed 2 spots and walked the woods chasing leaks and squirrel chews. found a few and got a missed a tap that was just hanging off the tee. popped that back on found a 1 foot section of tubbing just chewed the whole top of the tube off. so cut it out went t the nearest vac gauge and was back up to 26.5" Hg. Still need to explore more but good for now. last night (Tuesday) got the RO together tanks all set rinsed everything out did a quick wash and rinse all set.

forgot to turn on the transfer pump this morning so missed a few gallons sap before I got home but still ended up with close to 175 to 200 gallons since 2:30 today. Sugar isn;t good its only 1% and pretty cloudy but with the temps as of late and not much frost in the ground I wasn;t expecting much anyway. (thank goodness for the RO) still running pretty good. VERY windy right now so I hope nothing falls in the woods. I don;t feel like any major fixes right now.

So tonight I worked in the sugarhouse getting the Evap cleaned out and moving some things around. quick scrub on the hood get rid of the spiders etc.

I ordered a few things from bascom's I hope they get here I am re-running stuff so that I can get filter press hooked up to the new to me draw off tank hooked up gotta make a lid and get it up off the floor and make a little dolly for it. Josh is letting borrow possibly buy this old canner so now I will have 2 for this season easier to get bigger containers filled.

just have to get the rest of the fall stuff out of the sugarhouse. I did get a new 100 gallon head tank to put in the sugarhouse but I don;t know if its gonna make it in this year with arm all messed up. maybe though looks like we might have a 10 to 14 day freeze up but you never know things could change tomorrow!!!

dinner done back to the sugarhouse.

Should be ready for first

[red maples]

First boil Thursday night!!! smoothest first boil ever except for the big first foam up, forgot about that one but I always run the pans deeper on the first boil anyway ... just in case. no syrup yet but VERY close. could have drawn off a gallon or 2 but decided to wait. 450 gallons of 1% sap squeezed it out to 14% (went really easy) didn;t leave much to boil after the rig was filled!!! but good to smell the sweet anyway!!!


No sap yesterday or today. ended up with 9-10 inches of snow which went from going out to sea to 3-5 and then 9-10 in a 12 hour period. but with heavy mud in my driveway and trying to plow that thing its all ripped up!!!

It did warm up a little today but only made to 36* and trees were snow covered and it got down to 16* here last night so I turned on the vac but nothing was flowing. 43* tomorrow I hope we can get enough to boil if things thaw out quick enough. then into a 8-9 day freeze up.

[red maples]

OK Well, haven't posted in while due to internet issues but I think its finally fixed.

had 3rd boil yesterday have about 7-8 gallons of syrup so far. guessing light dark. Lots of niter, press clogged up quickly and already had to clean the front pan. Need to finish plumbing the filter press so it is more user friendly.

Should be boiling tonight but everything failed today.

Had to go down to Boston for Doc. Appts for my daughter the usual stuff for her. Had nice frost last night got down to 28 but I didn;t it was gonna get as warm as it did. Anyway got everything set up this morning pump running a drop of oil on the float shaft make sure everything is working. got home Vac pump didn;t sound right, vac gauge at zero... great!!! the float came off the bottom of the shaft and was stuck there. looks like I got about 75 gallons. then the small tank was overflowing and not pumping up checked the foot valve great there was a little tiny stick made it through the screen and stuck the valve open. so I guess instead of having 3-400 gallons after I got everything fixed and put back together I got another 30-40 gallons and everything is freezing up now!!! oh well tomorrow is another day... This happened once last year too. if it happens again I am gonna drill the shaft and put a pin in it so it. then it won;t happen anymore. Why does this stuff always happen when we are not around. figures murphy's law I guess.

Got all the buckets tapped yesterday. but can't find my trailer hitch platform for collecting bucket sap. grrrrrr. its big enough... where the heck is it. bags are full might have to pick one up tomorrow.

Glad to hear everyone is getting things going. still scrambling a little here. but its getting there.