January Journal

[Dill]

In anticipation of the 2 plus inches of rain coming in today. I got a roof on the sugarhouse! Wahoo!. Unfortunately, the evaporator is still in the driveway under a tarp. Darn.
Really odd weather for NH. Going to get above freezing almost everyday this week. I still don't think its tapping time yet though.

[smitty76]

We just went through that weather this past week and it is odd for us as well. I do not feel its time to tap either.


Congrast on your sugerhouse, now you can work on it in any weather.

[gator330]

It has been odd weather for the north east. Your right about it not being time to tap as well. We could freeze up again and not see a run till into March, Should be good and sweet by then. Good to her you have a roof. Now get that 2x6 you grabed out from under my nose under it!!!

[KenWP]

It's pouring rain right now. Poured rain off and on all day today. Finally got the roof of the house free of snow so I can do the chimney. Like to do it around the first of January but am a tad late this year. The last three dasy felt like tapping weather but supposed to be -20 by friday so me thinks not. Hopefull the ground dosn't freeze solid not that the snows been melted off in places.
I am hopeing to get the evaporator done by Sunday and then see how she works the next weekend and go from there. The weather forecast says Feb is supposed to be cold.

[mountainvan]

Drove through ice yesterday in the Berkshires, lots of accidents, and am dealing with flooding now. My two sugarbushes by the creek could be tapped from a boat right now! Adding more taps tomorrow!

[Brent]

We got mixes of rain and other stuff for 3 days. Hung 1300 feet of mainling and a few laterals. I was happy for the warmer weather. Only a couple inches of snow in the bush. I can see half the fields of alfalfa. Gotta get the bush work done so I can get back into the sugar shack. Easier to work in there when it freezing and blowing.

[dano2840]

bulled and jammed and pushed/pulled/ com a longed a 1000 gal metal framed tank way up into the woods all by my self, pretty proud of my self allthough the first day i wrenched my back some kinda hard but i worked that tank over the next day and got it in the shed, not bad for a one man army with a 20 foot tow strat and a 5 foot comalong

[red maples]

Danno ...if you put down some planks (use pine thay are lighter) it will slide nicely on them. you just need to keep moving them. but it sucks when you slide off them. and take it easy on your back man..I try to do things smarter not harder and usually end up stupider after but my back doesn't hurt...only sometimes when I get frustrated and I say the heck with it and just pick it up.

[red maples]

I just checked my test trees and I did tap 5 trees. in about 40 ft radius maybe bigger all reds. don't have that many sugars want to save them for the "right " time.

Tree 1= 1%
tree 2 = .75%
tree 3 = 2.1 %
tree 4 = 2%
tree 5 = 1.75%
total 2.5 gallons sap

average = 1.52% or 56 gallons sap per gallon syrup...hope it comes up a bit!!!!

all had similar amount of sap about 1/2 gallon between yesterday and today.

[dano2840]

picking up my order that i put down from rick marsh at the farm show today, also ordered some main line from leader at the last minute and some main fittings, brings this weeks wallet damage to 764.79. good god that hurts considering i dont work to earn money in the winter because im busy getting the sugarwoods ready. i sold 3 5 gal drums of syrup for 450 which help off set that but man o man my bank account is down to 179 OUCH thats gas money for a little while. theres a girl who really likes me but i told her i dont have any money i can spend on her right now and in about 2 or 3 weeks i will have 0 time to spend with her unless she wants to hang out in the sugar house, and with her being the next town over about 30 min away and not having her own car and just her permit i dont think she will be in the sugar house any time soon. i gotta cut some more wood, i cut about as much as i had last year and if i had a good season last year i would have run out. that and im adding 114 taps and putting 500 and some thing on vacuum this year. still running my old 3x8 with 4ft flue and 4ft syrup pan, man im going to be screwed bad when we get a BIG SAP run. might be calling in "sick" to school a little more this year