There was sap today.  We picked up two tanks of 200 gallons, 400 gallons total.  If we would have been fully tapped by Wednesday the 4th we would have had a lot more sap.    We got the storage tanks ready and the evaporator too.    We actually started the evaporator about 3:00 pm to start boiling the sap we collected.

The snow is still a challenge.   Its so loose.   The tractor struggles to get traction.  We put the tractor into 2nd gear, gun the throttle and hang on for rough ride.  Its a good thing we can steer using the brakes. Each of the back wheels is independent so we can break the right wheel to turn right or the left wheel to turn left.   When the front wheels start snow plowing they are useless for steering and we must rely on the brakes.  As long as the tractor is inching forward we don’t stop.  If we stopped the tractor would get stuck.  Wrestling with the tractor is more work then collecting sap.  

The weather forecast is unsettled.  Precipitation is coming, but if its rain, snow or a snow/rain mix is still unknown.  It will depend on where the warm air and cold air meet.  We have heard 3-5 inches,  6-8 inches and even 8-10 inches.  It seems we won’t know until it happens.

Today’s Count
400 gallons of sap