It was cold again last night.  Down to 12.   It warmed quicker today.  Reach about 36 or 37.  That allowed the ice in the buckets to thaw and the trees to start dripping.  It was right around 11:00 AM when puddles appeared.  32 is really a magical temperature. 32 and below, ice.  32 and above liquid.  And the transition is fast.

We had to take care of the paper work to renew our state food processing license so it was 3:30 PM before we got into the woods.  Of course the sun needed time to works its magic too and thaw the ice.  We had no help today so set out alone to collect.  Have to pace yourself.    By a little after 7:00 PM we had 200 gallons.  There were still about 20 buckets to empty but it was getting too dark to see and the temperature was dropping.    We pumped sap into the storage tank.  We put a heating tape on the tank’s pipes.  Its forecast for the lower 20s.  Hopefully we don’t get into the teens overnight. 

Tomorrow we will boil again.   Our evaporator is completely frozen up too.  Its been a long time since the end of March has been this cold or had this much snow on the ground.