Snow here also. It is actually getting white on the ground. Now if it goes below freezeing it will help.
Snow here also. It is actually getting white on the ground. Now if it goes below freezeing it will help.
maybe 50 taps for 2011
Finally ready to boil when I get enough sap
I just might be crazy.( make that I know I am)
Trees all tapped except the ones with 5 feet of snow.
Enough rabbits to keep Elmer busy..
We've got a foot and a half of the white stuff, if the sap starts flowing again it will be worth putting up with more snow!
After finding the old sugar bush yesterday I wish I could get ahold of another 20 buckets and really push the sugar maples for the few days left of the season. I might have to boil 24-7 but what the hell it only comes once a year.
maybe 50 taps for 2011
Finally ready to boil when I get enough sap
I just might be crazy.( make that I know I am)
Trees all tapped except the ones with 5 feet of snow.
Enough rabbits to keep Elmer busy..
Officially we got 24 cm, about 10", but it blew like ... so we've got bare spots and then 3 or 4 feet. We've had more than 36 hours of freeze so something will start to flow tomorrow. I need to clean and re-hang buckets. Then try to get the new ( new to me ) extractor tank going. See post in vacuum.
Having a bit of fun trying to figure out how it was hooked up and how I should hook it up.
Something is going to flow tomorrow and Thursday. Maybe buddy, maybe good. Hmmmmm Anyone got any firewood ?
Brent we got lots of wood sap has not ran here in two day but thing just opened up at 4pm today collected at 9pm and picked up 320gallons of nice clear sap should be a great weekend!
Mike
2x6 3 Flat Pans Small Brother
with blower
Stainless Steel Evaporator
Home Made Back Steam Hood with pre-heater
600 + Tap
Delaval VP 76 gas powered vacuum system to The Sugar Shack
Restoring and still having Fun!
http://s270.photobucket.com/albums/jj90/mikes-maple/
Good to hear you got another flow. We had a flow here to but this morning I had a 4' drift right across the field between the house and the bush. I went to work in a funk. Came home a bit early and the strong sun had eaten way the drift enough to get back and there was a strong trickle into the tank on the pipeline, but the inside of the tank had gone mouldy ... and the wood that is left will not burn hot enough. D O N E
So I split some wood for next year and we spent the night bottling.
I've been wiffle waffling for the past few days, ever since they said the weather was going to freeze nights again. I expected the temps at night to moderate, but this morning, they still have 5 nights of freezing forecasted. Last night wasn't a hard freeze though, -1. I think it pretty much took all night before it froze. Lake Erie goes against us sometimes I think.
I had finished off what was in the pans on Thursday. I didn't know if I wanted to start up again. I have some wood left. Dad's all gung-ho to do some more. I rebored some of the buckets on Monday the 30th of March. We dumped out the rain and old sap in the morning. I checked them around 8 last night and they had around an inch and a half in a 20 L pail. Some of them only a few drops. I rebored the buckets by the shanty and the 40 taps out at the front of the bush and they put 2.5 inches in the same pail in 4 hours.
I bleached the main lines yesterday morning. I got 3 of the 10 mainlines rebored. I'll do some more today. Hopefully I'll get enough out of this now. I know 2 years ago I rebored and got more syrup in April, than I did in March.
I don't like making syrup too far into April because then I get behind in all my farm work. (vegetables)
2239 total taps. 443 gravity line, 1806 buckets
3x12 remake of a Small Bros. Lightning evaporator.
3x9 Darveau raised flue pan, 3x3 D&G reversible finishing pan.
Reist arch
94 Argo 8x8 Magnum
06 Argo 8x8 Avenger with a 100 US gal. poly tank in the back.
30 - 45 Imperial gallon gathering station barrels
1200 Imperial gallons in holding tanks
Husqvarna 61
Husqvarna 365