Into the woods by 7:30 AM to start the evaporator.  It was cold again last night.  It was down to 10 at 6:30 AM.  The tanks did not freeze.  But the pipes to the evaporator did.  No liquid was in the pipes overnight.  We think as the sap from the tanks hit the cold, smaller pipes that it froze.  We took the pipes apart and warmed them the gas burner.   That worked to get them open.   It was 9:30 AM before we had a fire going under the evaporator.  

It was nice sunny day.  It got up to 44.   The sap started to run, but again it was so cold over night that it takes time for the sun to do its magic.  There was not enough sap in the buckets to collect today.  We hope to collect tomorrow.

We did cook through the 300 gallons of sap from yesterday.  Ended up the first 10 quarts of maple syrup for the season.

A few visitors today.   We were able to get both parents into the woods.  Mother, who is 82, was tasting the partially finished sap from the evaporator and commented “That’s the good stuff.”

This is the “good stuff.”  Beautiful spring day.   Sunny and nice in the woods.  The wonderful aroma of cooking maple syrup.   And family with us.