It was down to about 0 last night and reached about 12 during the day. But the sun is warm. On south facing surfaces you can feel the sun’s warming rays and see the snow melting. Soon the trees will wake from their winter slumber and the sap will flow. We had a “proper” winter for the first time in many years. Over 60” of snow. Cold, with no prolonged warming. There is about 15” of snow in the woods now, but in places its deeper. There are some maple syrup producers who tap in January and make finished syrup in January. This used to seem abnormal, but with effects of global warming the maple industry is watching this early tapping closely.

Today we got our LP gas tanks filled. We use LP gas for finishing the syrup and bottling. We had three empty tanks from preceding seasons that we needed filled. And we had to chop away the ice from the syrup building doors so we can get them open.

Tomorrow we plan to start tapping.