And we begin season 97.

 

70 taps out today.  Was trying for 100 but feet got wet and cold.    The snow is brutal.  Its 18” to 20” deep but the depth is not the problem.  The snow is very fine.  It does not bind or pack.  It envelops your feet.  Its like walking in very fine sand.  Takes a lot of energy to get through.


Got back to Wisconsin Feb 26.  Spent the past week washing buckets and spouts.  Still trying to get the feel of starting the tractor.  During off season we had the electrical completely redone on the H.  The wiring was old, bad and incorrect.  Now the battery actually holds a charge.  And we have head lights!  Its been 35-40 years since they worked.     Its just a little different feel now to start it that I am still getting used to.


Also fixed the tire on the wagon.  That become a problem last season.   Fortunately we got through but it was dicey a few times.  The wagon uses 15” tires which are had to get used because a lot of people use 15” tires for wagons and trailers.


We had a storm in August that broke off a large limb from a tree.  It fell on the electrical wire to the syrup building.  It snapped off the power pole.   It was just a year ago we put in the 100 amp/220 volt circuit.  Repairing that was an unexpected expense.


Its been a very cold winter.  Second or third coldest on record.  Very deep frost.  The East Twin river by us may be frozen solid.  Lake Michigan is 89% frozen over.   There have been around 50 days of below zero.  A few days had wind chills of -50.  No major snow storms, but a steady stream of 2”-4” of snow.    We have around 60” for the Winter so far.


It was only 25 today.  But it was sunny and the sun warms the trees.  The sap is starting to move in the trees.   Quite a few of the taps were wet.  Sunday the weather breaks with highs in the mid 30’s.  So its time to get the taps out.