Central Wisconsin

[Maple Man 85]

Great pictures! Is your woods in the MFL? Good to hear wonderful news about a cutting job well done! I agree, need to be out there every day when the cut is going on.....let them know your watching.

No, it was in recreational for many years. When I purchased it to get the sugaring process started and to avoid heavy taxes on short term capital gains I filtered the timber harvest income through our business and used it to purchase equipment rather than take the cash. We are currently in the process of rezoning it to agriculture. The timber harvest process was a good experience for me, one of the things we did right was getting a forester involved. We walked the property many times so we had a clear understanding of each others expectations and then it was holding the lumber company, foresters and loggers accountable. If everyone knows the expectation there is very little wiggle room for extra wood to be removed and the job is done properly.

[For_the_kids]

I tapped Saturday in central WI, near Wisconsin Rapids. We put in 70 taps on buckets. I checked them all today and most were bone dry yet with a few having a 1/2 gal or less in them. I think I got over excited about the warm weather but didn't give enough time for the ground to thaw out.

[markcasper]

I tapped 10 holes yesterday just to see what was happening. Every one was dry and this was on the south side of the hill next to a field and protected from the wind. Tubing fixing is all complete and now will be tapping regardless. I have 12-18" of frost in the soil at the woods and that was confirmed with a maul and a post! With that kind of frost and the current forecast, I'm not seeing much of any sap for 2 weeks, or more. We had virtually no snow cover "here" all winter until a month ago when we got dumped on, and then last week again. With no snow and the cold temps the frost has went deep. Heard reports of 3 feet of ice on the local lake which is unheard of from the guy that told me that.

[motowbrowne]

I tapped 10 holes yesterday just to see what was happening. Every one was dry and this was on the south side of the hill next to a field and protected from the wind. Tubing fixing is all complete and now will be tapping regardless. I have 12-18" of frost in the soil at the woods and that was confirmed with a maul and a post! With that kind of frost and the current forecast, I'm not seeing much of any sap for 2 weeks, or more. We had virtually no snow cover "here" all winter until a month ago when we got dumped on, and then last week again. With no snow and the cold temps the frost has went deep. Heard reports of 3 feet of ice on the local lake which is unheard of from the guy that told me that.

Hey Mark, I'm glad to hear you're not getting bent out of shape with this warm weather. Sometimes during this first warm up I worry about missing a lot of sap. I haven't drilled any test holes yet. Planning on tapping Saturday morning, but maybe I'll take another look at the forecast that morning. Right now they're saying about 60 hours above freezing starting Saturday morning. Think there is a chance for a run? After that, the rest of the week looks too cold again. I'm kinda planning on tapping what's ready on Saturday and getting the bugs worked out. Maybe shoot some dammed squirrels. After that hopefully I can string a few more lines during the cold days. Wouldn't hurt to keep working on the wood pile either.

[markcasper]

Hey Mark, I'm glad to hear you're not getting bent out of shape with this warm weather. Sometimes during this first warm up I worry about missing a lot of sap. I haven't drilled any test holes yet. Planning on tapping Saturday morning, but maybe I'll take another look at the forecast that morning. Right now they're saying about 60 hours above freezing starting Saturday morning. Think there is a chance for a run? After that, the rest of the week looks too cold again. I'm kinda planning on tapping what's ready on Saturday and getting the bugs worked out. Maybe shoot some dammed squirrels. After that hopefully I can string a few more lines during the cold days. Wouldn't hurt to keep working on the wood pile either.

No not really, not worth killing yourself over. I am going to tap the woods that you were in today and tomorrow and see if I can get vacuum on it before the weekend is over. Looking towards Sunday to just wash tanks and pans etc...., then will tap the other woods next week when it will be colder. It no fun trying to wash equipment below freezing. The other day what I thought would be a 2 hour fix line job turned into 10 hours and working in the moonlight, oh well! I chuckle at all the cage tanks in pickups on my way to work yesterday.....I think they will all be disappointed their not going to get much this weekend like they think they are going to get. With over a foot to 1.5 feet of frost, I don't see much until at least mid March.

This year is not like the last 2 years for sure. The frost is a big deal and all the newbies have not learned that yet. Unfortunately, high frost years usually end up being poor years. More metabolism syrup in high frost years too.