Today stated sunny, but by 9:00 am it was getting cloudy.  Earlier in the week rain was forecast for today, but that didn’t happen.  We tapped 100 this morning and another 100 this afternoon.  

We even managed to tap an Ash tree.  Ash and Maple have similar bark.  As you move through the woods you can mix them up if you are not looking carefully.  Now we very familiar with most of the maple trees in the woods and know where they are.  But we were tapping in section of the woods we have not tapped for a decade or more.  So the bark looked like a Maple and we did not check the crown of the tree.  The difference between the Ash and the Maple is the branches.  On an Ash the branches come out opposite each while on the Maple they alternate.

    Ash              Maple
    \   |   /           \   |   
      \ | /               \ |
        |                   |   /
        |                   |/

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and in the 40s.  Should be a good sap day.  We may even collect.  Especially since the weekend is forecast to be sloppy with rain and rain/snow mix.  

Today’s count
200 tapped
1 Ash tapped
275 total tapped