Into the woods by 5:15 AM. Goal for the day was to bottle two milk cans. Bottling went well. We’re getting the hang of working with the new bottling equipment.
• Turn on the bottler at the same time as lighting the burner on the finishing pan.
• After adding syrup, turn up the thermostat 200 or 210 to heat the syrup faster, then decrease the thermostat to 185-190 during bottling.
• Don’t place the cover on the bottler. The cover will cause condensation that can dilute the syrup below density. Two milk can bottled by 12:30 PM.
While bottling, we debated collecting today or waiting.
The argument for waiting was 1.) we are tired after over a week of 12+ hour days and 2.) rain and snow was forecast making collecting uncomfortable. Starts as rain the changes to snow with 1”-3” possible.
The argument for collecting 1.) the sap is fresher. 2.) some buckets were ½ full. 3.) rain and snow are forecast so it’s better to get the sap before that.
We decided to collect. Out by 1:15 PM after fueling the tractor. 4 hours. Solo. 225 gallons with 30 taps uncollected. Snow started by 4:00 PM and hands got cold. Decided we were done either when the tank was full or all taps collected. The tank filled first with 30 taps uncollected amounting to 40-60 gallons. We’ll get them tomorrow.
Back to the farmhouse by 5:30 PM. Another long day.