Into the woods at 2:15 PM to light the burners on the finishing pan. Wanted to try another batch. The new, fresh filter aid (DE) arrived today. This DE is white. The other DE was pinkish. Mixed in 2/3 cup per gallon. From the get go it behaved differently. It did not clump. It sank into the syrup. Mixed easily. The next test was how it when through the pump. Perfect. One hand again for the complete batch. Next was how the syrup looked in the bottle: crystal clear for the complete batch. The theory is improper storage of the DE. It was stored in the farmhouse but in the original bag, not a sealed container. It may have absorbed moisture from the environment over the years. Maybe not enough to feel or see the difference but enough to foul the filter papers when used.

Two milk cans done. Two more remain. But we do have two empty and another with only one batch. We could handle about 1000 gallons of sap.

29 overnight. Cloudy and 35 today. But the ground was colder. Ice didn’t melt and ground stayed stiff. Trees had a positive 8 PSI but the trees didn’t drip much. Tomorrow is forecast as 40 and sunny. Hoping we can collect.

Back to the farmhouse by 5:30 PM.