Looks like we're done. Temps say so. Silvers have been buddy for a bit now so we pulled all those taps Saturday and flushed the lines. Scrubbed the buckets from the bucket silvers. Sugars probably not far behind but we're done. Some trees look like they getting a bit of bud swelling.
This end of the season slam was incredible. I've never seen trees run like they have. My 32 sugars, that I have to drive to for collection, on 3/16 overflowed the 55 gallon barrel four times in a couple days. Next year I'll put two barrels at that location and not run so much on the ground and then can spend less time driving to collect. If I had to guess, probably missed 40 gallons or so.
Bottled up 11.25 gallons yesterday of darker, very robust flavor syrup. Good stuff. Gives me 29.25 gallons for the season; my best ever by about half a gallon. So, that makes .31 gallons of syrup per tap. Sugar averaged 2.4%. Great numbers for me based on how things have gone since 2015. I can't imagine what we could do if the weather were more favorable. Some year we'll really get it and I don't think half a gallon per tap is out of the question.
Hope everyone else's season finishes out as well as ours!
42.82N
2015 - Small operation. 25 buckets. One excited 5 year old and one 35 year old that feels 5 again.
2016 - One year older. New Homemade 2x4 Arch, Smoky Lake Pan and looking at 52 maples, 17 box elders and 2 walnut trees.
2017 - Shurflo 4008 hooked to 42 stingy silver maples and a few Norways. A couple buckets on sugars and Norways. 10 box elders.
2018 - ...a few more taps.
2019 - ...more taps on 3/16 gravity. This spiral is heading downward in a hurry.
2020 - 4x400 RO - RB20 (uh-oh!)
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