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Thread: Crawford County 2020

  1. #21
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

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    Sunday, March 15th. Sap has been running off and on but enough to get a very nice collection and a full day of boiling Monday. Sap is still clear, a little bit lower sugar content with 2% being the average.

    Monday, March 16th. We got a fire started by 8 a.m. and then the trip to the woods began. We completed that by 11 a.m. and had an excellent collection from the past 24 hours. For my gravity trees, it was well over a gallon per tree. A light mist for the first 24 hours wasn't much of a bother. The ground was solid enough to allow us to venture into the woods a bit further on the trails. Less carrying is always nice. Back to the fire...
    Last edited by Irish Ridge; 03-16-2020 at 11:25 AM.
    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

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    West branch Kickapoo River Valley, Southwestern Wisconsin
    Posts
    192

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    Well Irish Ridge sounds like you have everything under control, I still have valley snow and mud still is not a problem,Up top the ground seems firm and not to greasy.Being off grid for a few days a guy forgets about the pandemic but the ride home brings me back to reality and stress level goes up. stay healthy my friend.
    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

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

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    Tuesday, March 17th, Well, everything was under control until this morning. I went out to collect sap and found that I had the best 24 hour run ever. My total average was approximately 2.25 gallons per tree. My favorite tree was well over 3 gallons. Unbelievable. Now I am simply enjoying a nice sunny day, low wind speed, and trying to figure out how my next few days will look especially with rain coming. That and tossing another log on every now and then. Sap on.
    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. #24
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

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    Tuesday, March 24th,

    The past week were good runs and long boils. Second best year at this point and should not be hard to make it my best year. A long boil yesterday and then on to the gas stove to finish a batch made for a long day. Fire was started at 7 a.m. this morning. Collection of sap this a.m. includes collecting buckets. We boil until finished today. Just can't complain about anything with this season. Longer than the most recent. A recap will come in a day or two.

    Tuesday, March 24th at noon. Way to much sap in the woods. Only half the buckets were brought in. Definitely will work through the night to keep pace with the trees. Wednesday the rest of the taps get pulled. Just burning time right now.
    Last edited by Irish Ridge; 03-24-2020 at 02:56 PM.
    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. #25
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Location
    Prairie du Chien, WI
    Posts
    201

    Default

    Friday, March 27th. As promised, the remaining taps were pulled on Wednesday. Problem was (good problem) that there was plenty of sap in the pails so the question was now how to get this all boiled. That project continued all day and evening Wednesday. A rain delay Thursday morning allowed for catch up on things and then more boiling in the afternoon and evening. Friday we finished all boiling and finished on the gas stove. 2020 was our best year yet. With 47 taps we were able to produce 21.5 gallons. The last week produced some very dark syrup. Fun watching the color change over the course of the season. Only one batch this week had excessive sugar sand. Sugar content in the sap remained high all season. It was a long season for us with taps going in on Feb. 17th and sap really running Feb. 21st. There was one very slow spell in there but a very strong end of season.

    RANDOM THOUGHTS- Peepers announced their presence on Wednesday evening. Complete firewood supply was used. Do I get an RO? Where are the turkeys? Except for a lot of clean up, we are done here on Irish Ridge. Hope everyone has or had a successful season.
    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

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Jan 2014
    Location
    West branch Kickapoo River Valley, Southwestern Wisconsin
    Posts
    192

    Default

    Glad you had a record year, now time to start cutting wood for next season, split, stack, and Ibuprofen. Oh boy.
    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

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