november journal

[red maples]

My CV's and stubbies came today. So I can start making new drops at night since there is less day light!!! I wanna make a little measuring jig so the will be easier to measure and cut.

still got a lot of little tubing rearraging to do to get things as close to perfect as I can get out in the sugar bush!!!!

I emailed bascom's sometime and asked about the temp grading sets, when the 2011 ones would be in. They said to oder it in nov. that's when they usually come in. So I ordered it and got the 2010 one. Gotta call 'em up see whats going on. When I took the trip out there a few months ago I did notice a pretty big pile of the 2010 kits on the shelf.

[Thad Blaisdell]

What I do for drops is, my arms stretched out is 6', cut it there, then cut them in half, that gives me 36" drops almost perfectly.

[Russell Lampron]

Finished with the wood for the outdoor furnace the weekend before last. I've got close to 20 cords on hand. I've got all but about a 1/2 cord of sugar wood in too. Going to finish that up next weekend. Then it will be time to sell my commercial syrup and buy some mainline and other supplies and hit the woods. I'm glad that I am only fine tuning the tubing this year and not adding any more new taps until next year. Next year starts January 1st though.

[PATheron]

Ive been working pretty steady through the woods down here as of late. Got up at 0300 this morning and drank my coffee and got a couple hours in before work and then hit it till dark after work. Havent got as many new taps in as I had hoped but am getting to where Im pretty happy with my existing stuff. I do have another woods I was goiing to get 800 taps in this year pretty well setup for 400 and may have to just go with that. Takes a long time to really get things right working nights and weekends and plus the other stuff you have to do. Never seems to be an end to the improvements that could be done. Looks like my buddy is going to get around 1200 taps in this year and thats another thing that Im kind of involved in but Im getting all the sap so thats like more taps without me putting them in so Im pretty happy about that. Gonna keep on keeping on. Im kind of hoping January is froze up hard this year so Im not tempted to tap and will have an extra month to get ready. Weve had I believe seven freezes as of tonight so far this fall. Im becoming very tempted to fall tap down here. As weak as the sap was last spring I dont know how I could do any worse here in the fall and it seems like we get way more freeze thaws. I know it wont freeze up here till darn near January. I thought about tapping in November next year with the whole shooting match on quarter inch spiles tapped shallow and throw them away in January and tap them with new 5/16 but they would probly slow way down. Not sure what to think. I need a year that Im all cought up and not expanding and tap some in and see what happens. Be a great experiment. Ive all ready cought crap down here about tapping in January, wonder what people would say about tapping in the previous year? Theron

[Parker]

Finished up 500 new drops with stubbies....Gonna get back out in the woods tommrow,,add a bunch of reds to existing set ups..
On the way home from delivering a load of wood today I saw a hillside of what looked like maples,,,close to home,,what the heck take a walk!!! Well it was a LONG way UP to where to wood changed from hemlock to what I thought might be maple,,,,,nope,,,,acres and acers of beech,,,,mabey next time...nice walk though...

[Randy Brutkoski]

Well tomorow is the big day. My Force 5 is being delivered to my place. I wish my wife was excited as me today when i heard the good news. She will come into it when she sees all of that shiny stuff being unloaded off of the truck. I hope....

[twobears1224]

i did alittle bit of everything today.i,am putting a garage door on the woodshed end of my sugarhouse and between bus runs i put up one track and worked on the corny keg i bought to try to build a releaser out of then,after supper i worked on my arch again.
tomorrow,is my last day this week to drive bus so i,am hoping thursday thur sunday is good weatherwise (knock on wood) i really need to button up the outside of the sugarhouse and get serious about firewood.

delbert

[Sugarmaker]

Deer hunting with Eric tonight near I-90, Very noisy. Any deer near there must be deaf or have earplugs in.
The 025C Sthil chainsaw took another dump tonight. I put in a new oil pump drive gear today since it got cooked over the weekend. May have destroyed the crank seal on the clutch side again? Its been a good one but It may be time to go shopping for another pallet saw!

Hope things are good in maple land.

(sorry this is off topic.) I did add another Cub Cadet to the fleet, here's a shot of it on the trailer, a Model 73. Thanks Sdurf!

Regards,
Chris

[maplwrks]

Sorry Randy--She won't be impressed until you start showing her the big syrup checks. All she sees right now is lots of stainless to polish.

[ennismaple]

Well tomorow is the big day. My Force 5 is being delivered to my place. I wish my wife was excited as me today when i heard the good news. She will come into it when she sees all of that shiny stuff being unloaded off of the truck. I hope....

Congrats on the new Force 5. Lapierre has been busy - my cousins got theirs last Thursday. Hopefully all goes smoothly. Enjoy!