Try to identify a catchy tune that plays on the radio during the season. This season: Ava Max – Kings & Queens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH1RNk8954Q
30 overnight. Sunny and high 50s today. Picked up buckets and covers from the woods this afternoon. They are in storage. Rain forecast for tomorrow so its prudent to get the buckets in.
Remaining work: two batches to bottle and clean the evaporator.
37 overnight. Sunny and 63 today. Felt warm. We did not get a sap run. Checked the trees at 8:00 AM. A few had sap, but it was 1 Brix.
Took down buckets and pulled spouts. Dumped any sap in the buckets. Done by 9:00 AM.
On to the evaporator. Emptied sap from the evaporator into buckets. About 17 gallons to finish. Got the pans off and rinsed. Went for a tank of water. Replaced pans. Filled the flue pan with water and later cleaning solution when the water was boiling. Sap to finish went into the front syrup pan. Evaporator going by 11:45 AM. By 3:30 PM all the remaining sap cooked and into the milk can. Two batches to finish and bottle. Separated this last syrup from the evaporator into its own batch because its typically darker and did not want to mix with the earlier batch.
We’ll end up with around 20 gallons. Somewhere along the way we under counted sap collected.
19 overnight. Sunny and 41 today. Should be sap weather, but not much happening. Spouts wet and dripping some. It won’t freeze tonight so trees will drip overnight. We’ll check in the morning if the amount and sugar content is high enough to collect. But that will be the end because the weather pattern changes and the taps are old.
21 overnight. Sunny, 34 today. A north wind made it feel colder. Spouts wet, but ice in the buckets. 20s tonight again. Warmer tomorrow. We’ll see if we get usable sap. Weekend warms so this is the last opportunity.
32 overnight. 38, sun early, then cloudy and breezy today. Into the woods by 6:30 AM. Water run again. Fire going by 7:00 AM. One batch into the milk can. Done by 10:00 AM.
Day’s Cooking
7:00 5.5”
8:00 4.25”
9:00 2”
9:30 .75”
10:00 done
Forecast for next two days is 20s at night and upper 30s/lower 40s during the day. But the taps are getting old with some dried up already and sugar content is down. Have to evaluate if its feasible to collect any sap that runs.
44 overnight. 65, sunny and breezy today. Did not expect 65. A cold front moves in overnight with a forecast low of 23.
Into the woods at 3:00 PM to collect. Picked up 55 gallons: about 1 gallon of finished syrup because of the lower sugar content. Some buckets empty while others were full on the same tree. That’s expected at the end of the season.
22 overnight. Started cloudy this morning. By Noon the sun appeared. Temperature up to 45, but breezing. The sap is running. Tested the sugar content in individual trees. Its back up some at 1.5 Brix others at 2.0 Brix. That’s worth getting. Plan to collect tomorrow.
Tree pressure still at 2 PSI. Seems low given that sap is running. Forecast is still promising for sap, but its all about the sugar content.
36 overnight. Cloudy with snow flurries most of the day. Temperature reached 40, but with the wind it felt much colder. Forecast is 30 overnight and 50 tomorrow. But even if there is sap, with a low sugar content its not worth cooking.
Into the woods by 7:00 AM to cook. Brought a milk can of water to wash the syrup pan. Thought about skipping washing the pan because we only had 35 gallons to cook, but the pan had a buildup of nitre. Best to wash to avoid problems with boiling.
The last boil requires careful balance between getting the right amount of sap in pan so it won’t burn and not filling too much or its takes longer to empty and boil through the remaining sap Ideally we want ½” left in the pan.
Back to the farmhouse by 10:15 AM. Transitioning to clean up mode.
34 overnight. Cloudy and 40 today with rain showers late afternoon. Into the woods by 3:45 PM to collect. Glad we dumped sap yesterday. The old sap wouldn’t have mixed will with the fresh sap. We would’ve ended up with poor quality sap.
Picked up 35 gallons. But this is likely the end. Low sugar in the sap. Barely 1.5 Brix. And we loose freezing nights.
Cook tomorrow.