Into the woods by 5:00 AM to work on emptying the evaporator. Got the fire going. Getting this boil right is important to emptying the evaporator. You have to fire enough to boil down the sap so there’s not much left, but can’t over fire and burn the pans. We did well. There’s about 13 gallons left to finish. We’ll fill the flue pan with water while we finish the syrup on the front pan.
Light snow started by 4:30 AM. Lasted until 5:30 AM. Got 1/2” of light fluffy snow. Then it got colder. Half the buckets were still up and they were filled with sap. The cold was going to make them full of ice. Had to get them down and emptied. Started by 7:00 AM. Had them all down and emptied by 7:45 AM. Back to the farmhouse by 8:00 AM.
Returned to the syrup building late this afternoon. Emptied the evaporator. Took off the flue pan and rinsed it. Replaced it. Remaining syrup is ready to cook down. Back to the farmhouse by 5:00 PM.