The sap we boiled was clear, but the syrup it made did not taste right. We’ll sell the off flavored syrup to Basoms when we go to buy more maple supplies. Time to clean up!
March 31, 2010
March 30, 2010
Boiled again
Last night we boiled off the sap that has run the past 2 days. The sap is clear, and the steam didn’t have a bad smell to it. So, I’m hoping it makes some good dark syrup. It sure was a nice night to be out boiling again. The rain stopped and it was warm and calm. All the doors were open in the sugarhouse, and it was nice to stand outside again and watch the sparks fly high and the steam billow from the cupola. I’m already looking foward to watching that again next year.
March 29, 2010
The sap is running again
The weather this weekend was cold and breezy. Without sap to boil, it was the perfect time to get some wood split and in the wood shed in preparation for next season. We collected just under .1 gallons of sap/tap last night, and the sap is still running today. We’ll boil what we have tonight to see if this late season sap will give us some good syrup. If not, we’ll pull the taps and start the cleanup…. There is no cold weather predicted for the next 2 weeks, so this will be the last sap run. We’re hoping for a better sugaring season next year.
March 23, 2010
The cold is coming!
It looks like we’ll be getting back to good sugaring weather toward the end of this week and possibly into next. I hope this ideal weather is not too late. The sap will run, but time will tell if it will give us good syrup. If it ends up being off flavor due to the extensive warm weather we’ve had and the buds starting to swell on the trees, we’ll boil it and make some commercial syrup to sell in exchange for supplies for next year. We’ve only made about 1/2 the syrup we expected to produce this year. So, we’re hoping to get some more out of this season….
March 21, 2010
Still too warm
We’ve been getting small amounts of cloudy sap from some taps, but most have shut down. We’re finishing off the sweet from the evaporator on the wood stove pan today and cleaning the evaporator. I’m holding off on pulling out the taps in hopes that the weather changes toward the end of the week. We’re hoping we’ll get some more sap that is worth boiling after the next freeze. Stay tuned….
March 16, 2010
The taps were actually dripping today
I couldn’t believe it when I checked the buckets today and saw the taps dripping. It has been days since that happened. So, I ended up collecting the sap we had and boiled it off this evening. If we don’t get a freeze tonight, I’m affraid our season is over. The buds on the trees are really starting to swell, and the warm weather this week sure won’t help our season. It looks like it is now time for the clean up……
March 13, 2010
No sap again today
We didn’t get cold enough last night to get the sap moving today. We boiled the last of our sap for some visitors today and made some more medium amber syrup. Sounds like this has been a tough season for many this year. Hopefully the buds won’t pop out during this warm week we have coming up. We’re still hoping for some cold weather and a few more sap runs before the season is over.
March 12, 2010
Still waiting on a freeze
We’re hoping for a freeze in the next few days. The rain storm coming for the weekend will keep temps. above freezing until early next week. Hopefully the weather changes after next week and the sap starts to flow again. If not, I fear the season could be over. We’re watching the thermometer closer than the TV lately and hoping for the best. Stay tuned….
March 11, 2010
The end is near
It looks like this could be a very short sugaring season. The forecast for the next 5 days shows night time lows above freezing. To date we have only collected about 4 gallons of sap/tap. They say that a good year should yeild about 10 gallons/tap. It looks like this will not be one of those years. Time will tell. We plan to boil on Saturday for a couple hours for some visitors. That will be the last boil for a while. We still have a few weeks left in March. Hopefully the weather changes and we get a few more runs before the buds pop out on the trees.
March 9, 2010
Finally – A cold night!
It is already 29 degrees F at 8PM! We haven’t been that cold since last Friday night. It looks like tonght should be cold enough to reset the trees and get the sap flowing again. We’re hoping for a good run tomorrow. We boiled for an hour this evening to process the sap that was collected over the past couple days. I was afraid that if we waited any longer, it would just go bad. Hopefully the weather this week cooperates and we’ll have plenty of sap to boil off this weekend for some visitors.
