MapleAcres

The forecast was up to an 1” of snow. Looking outside at 4:00 AM it was obvious there was more than 1”. It was 28 overnight so we didn’t get rain. And the storm moved slower so it accumulated.

38 and cloudy all day. But with the freeze/thaw cycle the sap ran. Tree pressure up to 13 PSI. Out collecting at 3:30 PM. Sugar content dropping: just below 2 Brix today.

Forecast for the next days looks promising. By amount of sap collected so far, we are about 2/3 of a crop.

28 overnight. 36 and mostly cloudy today. Snow forecast overnight: up to an inch.

Into the woods by 9:00 AM to cook. 11” in the tank at 9:30 AM when we started to run sap into the evaporator. Three batches into the milk can. Done by 1:30 PM. That’s 25 gals/hr. Have to fire hard to get 25 gals/hr with this evaporator.

Tree pressure hit 11 PSI. A small run. Unexpected, but we did get the freeze/thaw cycle.

34 overnight. Sunny, windy and 37 today. The wind made it feel colder. By not collecting yesterday we got the full run. Otherwise sap would have run into the evening and accumulated in the buckets after we collected. Not a lot but buckets wouldn’t be empty. The run finished before we collected so now the buckets are empty.

No snow or mud in the woods. Did not need boots. Forecast: 22 overnight. Mid 30s and rain/snow mix tomorrow afternoon.

18 overnight. Sunny and 56 today. Into the woods by 8:15 AM to cook. Filled milk can with water: without the R/O we don’t have a water source for cleaning. Boil going by 8:45 AM. One batch into the milk can. Only 35 gallons to cook. Done by 10:00 AM.

At 9:00 AM tree pressure at 0 PSI. By 10:00 AM it was 13 PSI. Trees dripping. Tree pressure increases rapidly under proper conditions. Expect to collect tomorrow.

35 at 3:30 AM, but it froze sometime overnight because the ground was hard and puddles had ice. Sunny and up to 40, but felt cold.

Trees did not drip, but we collected at 4:00 PM. Wanted to get the sap out of the buckets. It sat for a few days in warm weather. If it was bad, we dumped it, but surprisingly it was good. Helps that the frost is still in.

Weekend forecast is promising.

No woods activity. 44 overnight. Sunny and 51 today with strong wind gusts.

But tomorrow the pattern changes. Forecast for next weeks look promising with high 30s/low 40s during the day and 20s at night.

43 overnight. 46 today. Cloudy with rain showers. Sun appeared briefly. Snow disappearing fast. Frost still in the ground.

Saw three robins late this afternoon. We can still get snow. Robins better be prepared.

By Saturday we return to a cooler, normal, weather pattern.

28 overnight. Sunny and 60+ today. Into the woods by 9:15 AM to collect to make up for yesterday. Finished collecting by 10:15 AM: 110 gallons. Started the evaporator. Two batches into the milk can. Keep a good fire to evaporate at maximum. Done by 3:30 PM.

Days cooking

11:00 11”
12:00 9.”5
13:00 6.75”
14:00 3”
14:30 2”
14:45 1”
15:30 Done

No Woods Work. 25 overnight. 50 today. Sap ran but tree pressure was only 10 PSI. Expected higher PSI because we had a good freeze and sunny day.

We were busy with other matters and couldn’t get into the woods. It was a long day: up a 3:30 AM Sunday and didn’t get to bed until 7:00 PM Monday. It was a very good day. Time for the party hats.

Into the woods by 8:30 AM. 20 overnight. Cloudy morning kept the temperature down and the snow and ground frozen. Got the evaporator fired up by 9:00 AM. Estimated 3 hours to cook 70 gallons of sap. Had a good boil and finished by 11:00. Almost fired too long. The 11:00 AM reading measured 1″ of sap in the tank. That’s getting low. Stopped firing and allowed the sap to flow in. Done by 11:30 AM.

Warm spell forecast the next 3-4 days. 50s. Even 60s. Getting too warm. We’ll wait it out.