Western MA - My drill finger is getting itchy
Looking at the short-range forecast for my area in Western MA, next weekend (1/20 - 1/21) looks very good, with daytime temps in the 40s. And then long-term forecasts for the end of January and all of Feb look above average. I know it's really early, but I'm seriously considering pulling the trigger next weekend.
Some considerations aside from the usual come from the fact that my wife and I had a baby, so that means I'll likely only have time to get to the cabin to boil on weekends. That means that some late season runs might sit in the sun over the week and spoil in 60 and 70 degree temps. So if I can trade early season runs for late ones, that's probably a good trade-off.
There is another piece of it though. I may have a limited number of weekends I can skip out on the family, or convince the wife to come with me. Since there tend to be more and bigger runs late in the season, if I wind up only being able to get out to my sugarbush a few times, I might get more out of the late season trips rather than early season ones.
What do you all think?
2016: Homemade arch from old wood stove; 2 steam tray pans; 6 taps; 1.1 gal
2017: Same setup. 15 taps; 4.5 gal
2018: Same setup. Limited time. 12 taps and short season; 2.2 gal
2019: Very limited time. 7 taps and a short season; 1.8 gals
2020: New Mason 2x3 XL halfway through season; 9 taps 2 gals
2021: Same 2x3, 18 taps, 4.5 gals
2022: 23 taps, 5.9 gals
2023: 23 taps. Added AUF, 13.2 gals
2024: 17 taps, 5.3 gals
All on buckets