Vernon County

[Mr Sugar Maple]

I am with you Tom, yes its hard work but time in the woods beats a couch any time. I did not get back from the sugar bush until 5.30 this evening, put things away, supper,shower, and now Maple Trader. We cooked 370 gallons of sap , made sweet water Sat afternoon then cooked 270 gallons of sap into 7.5 gallons syrup. sap tested at 2% sugar, hope that improves. We have 350 more gallons of sap for next Saturday. Sorry you had trouble with your evaporator, keep at it, things work out for the best.

[Irish Ridge]

Evening Ray, Tom, and I know Mr. Sugar Maple is out there too. It's nice hearing your results from Vernon as they almost mirror my flow results. Spent the day over my fire. My operation is over an old converted oil tank. My 22 by 30 stainless steel pan developed a pin hole leak yesterday so I can relate real well with you Tom. As my wife and I talked about whether to purchase a new pan or have it spot welded in Prairie I asked how long do we plan on doing this. Her immediate reply was we aren't stopping, maybe less taps but not stopping so that made the decision much easier. Removing ice tomorrow morning cuts my boil time so really not minding the cooler weather. I hear you Tom. I look forward to this busy season year round. For us it really means spring is right around the corner.

[lulugrein]

Hello Tom, Ray, Mr. Sugar Maple and anyone else out there in SW WI who shares this obsession with making maple syrup. I'm very curious how the sap has been running this past week and what you all think about this impending warm up next week. Sad to say I have not been able to get away from my day job to go tap trees at my cabin in the woods in Vernon County. I have my first tap penciled in for March 6th but am lowering my expectations each day as I check the accuweather forecast. Getting a little down here in Madison as the days tick by. I'll take any tidbits of hope, wisdom or comic relief that you could toss my way -LuAnn

[lpakiz]

lulu,
Don't get down yet. The traditional season for me usually STARTS in mid-March. We are still a ways from the start, much less the end. While its possible that it could be a short season, no one can know til about mid-April.

[markcasper]

lulu,
Don't get down yet. The traditional season for me usually STARTS in mid-March. We are still a ways from the start, much less the end. While its possible that it could be a short season, no one can know til about mid-April.

Have you not tapped yet lpakiz? I think you better tap if you haven't. A guy I buy from got 2 gallons a tap last weekend, needless to say I wasn't the guy boiling it. Hopefully I will be done tapping tomorrow morning, with maybe some more next week pending conditions.

[lpakiz]

Yes, gonna tap Saturday. I'm aware that I may have missed some sap, and that will be sorely regretted if it is a short season. If it returns to normal weather later in March, it won't be a big deal.
Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Tommoore30]

Lulu, (and Gang),

My Son-in-Law isn't going to make it down this weekend, so unless I can do one more year of being Superman, I can always stop by and drop off 40-80 gallons of sap for you. All my 5 gal buckets are overflowing - lucky for me they're all frozen at night, waiting for me on the weekend. Taking Monday off to do 2.5 days boiling. If you need sap, I'll likely have some! ~ Tom

[lulugrein]

Thanks Ipakiz!

[lulugrein]

That's a generous offer Tom. Unfortunately, I only have a little window of time Sunday-Monday to tap trees, work on fire box and other prep. First boil will be the following weekend. I have a retired neighbor up the road with a much bigger set up than mine and more time on his hands than I (he will admit that who might be interested in your sap. Let me know if I should pass your offer on to him. No worries if not or if I don't hear from you in next 48 hours. Superman calls!

[lulugrein]

Sap ran fast when I put the rest of my taps in here in Southern Vernon county yesterday. March Madness has begun!