MapleAcres

22 overnight. Sunny low 30s most of the day, but warmed to 40 late afternoon.  The sun is warm and melting the snow already.

Started a wash cycle on the R/O.  We are closing down the season.  Also hard to admit that its time, but it is.  We have a week to cleanup.

Snow still forecast for tonight.  Up to 1”.

The weather may be snowy and cold, but the season is likely over.  Its over because the taps are old: 41 days now.  And we are running out of time: return to Washington, DC  April 14.

We saw last week  that even with the freeze/thaw cycle (20s/40s) the sap did not run.  We’ve had a good season.  Above average.  Average would be 75 gals.  We should get close to 95 gals.  We have a little over a week to complete all clean up:  R/O, spouts/buckets/covers down and stowed, evaporator cleaned, all syrup bottled.

A good 6”- 8” of snow.  Because of blowing and drifting its hard to tell exact amount.   22 overnight.  Sunny and breezy today with a high of 30.  Remainder of week is also cold with 1”-2” of snow forecast for Friday.

Our snow storm moved in 12 hours later then forecast.  Forecast had snow starting after 1:00 AM.  At 4:00 AM there was only a dusting.  It was cloudy but did not start snowing until 1:30 PM.  We’ve had 1”-2” already.  Forecast is still for 6”-10”.  Its a slow moving storm.

We have a February weather pattern the reset of the week.  Highs of 30. Lows in 20s.  Mother nature decided to compensate for those 50 degree days in February.  She realized she short changed us on winter.

The 10 days from March 23 to April 1 were the peak of the season.  We collected one day and cooked the next.  Collected 1505 gallons of sap, 38% of the season total, during this time.  We were able to stay on top of the sap because of the R/O.  Without it we would not have finished cooking one day’s  collection before the next one came in.  We would have cooked late into the night and filled all our storage tanks.  We’ve been there.  But we were able to pace this out to very manageable days.

12 overnight.  Sunny this morning with clouds this afternoon.  Temperature reached low 40s.  Checked the trees at Noon.  Some tried to run, but nothing of consequence.  Sap likely moving in the trees but the taps are getting old.

Tonight we get snow.  Forecast calls for 6”-10” or 7”-11”.  We’ll see what the next 24 hours delivers.

Into the woods by 5:45 AM.  We had Noon plans and wanted to finishing cooking yesterday’s pickup of 165 gals.  It was clear and cold: 18 and breezy.  The temperature dropped as the sun rose.  Once the evaporator fire was going we warmed our hands by the stack.  And opening the doors to fire gave a welcome wave of warmth too.

Three batches into the milk can.  First at 7:40 AM.  R/O from 7:00 AM to 8:45 AM.  Delayed starting the R/O wash cycle until we left. Wanted to enjoy the woods without the background din of the pumps.

Sunny and cold today:  33.  Tonight is 18 again.  Tomorrow rain/snow with 2”-3” of snow on Tuesday.  Glad we picked up yesterday because it looks like ice in the buckets most of this week.

Back to the farmhouse by 10:45 AM, an early finish.

Into the woods by 11:15 AM to get syrup into the finishing pan.  Syrup was finished and filtered by 1:00 PM.  Done with bottling and cleanup by 1:50 PM.

Then headed out to collect.  Tonight the forecast is 18.  Any sap will freeze.  Get it while its liquid.  We hoped for a tank full, 225 gal, but ended up with 165 gal.  A few running well, but many are dry.   The taps are out over a month so dry taps are expected.  But with a low of 23 the other night and sunny yesterday we should have more sap.  Since we didn’t its a signal we are coming to the end of the season.   We could be surprised because we get the freeze/thaw pattern this coming week.

Planning to begin cooking early tomorrow.   We have plans for Easter dinner at Noon and want to be done cooking by 11:00 AM.  We should be able to meet that if we get into the woods by 6:00 AM.

No snow last night.  Lite rain started by 8:00 AM this morning.  Cloudy and windy.  Did reach low 40s before the wind shifted to the North and temperature dropped.

Back to the farmhouse by 6:15 PM.

Into the woods by 7:00 AM.  A little later then past days because we knew we would finish earlier with only 200 gallons to cook.

Had to thaw out frozen pipes on the storage tank.  We use an electric heat gun originally intended to strip paint.  We used to use a propane torch.  This is much nicer and easier to work with.  After 3-5 minutes the gurgle starts in the tank as sap pushes out air.

R/O from 8:05 AM to 10:35 AM.  Three batches into milk cans.  We again have two full cans of syrup to finish and bottle.

24 overnight dropping to 20 around dawn.  Sunny most of the day until after 5:00 PM.  Temperature 42.  Trees dripped some, but not enough to collect.   Tonight low of 30 with snow/rain after midnight.  Possibly an inch accumulation.  Tomorrow windy, cloudy and 40.

Back to the farmhouse by 1:00 PM.  A short day.

Only collected 200 gallons of sap today: our smallest collection of the season.  We could be coming to the close of the season.  We’ve had 10 collections so far.  Typically we have 9-11 for a season. The next few days turn colder again so there is still the possibility of sap yet.

Into the woods by 8:30 AM to get syrup on the finishing pan.   Done bottling by 11:30 AM.  Then back for tank cleaning at 2:00 PM and to collect at 3:00 PM.  Done collecting by 4:30 PM.  Back to the farmhouse by 5:00 PM.

34 overnight.  Low 40s and partly cloudy today.  Windy late afternoon.  Forecast is 23 overnight and low 40s tomorrow.

Into the woods by 6:45 AM.  R/O running from 7:50 AM to 1:00 PM.  8 batches into milk cans.  Back to the farmhouse by 5:00 PM.  It was a routine day cooking 415 gallons.  We’ve become dependent on the R/O for getting this done and turning this into a routine day.  This is still an amazing development to us with all the past years of “long pleasant hours, few spend in bed” cooking syrup in the woods.

Batches in milk cans

1.   9:00 AM
2. 10:10 AM
3. 11:25 AM
4. 12:35 PM
5.   1:35 PM
6.   2:40 PM
7.   3:35 PM
8.   4:10 PM

25 overnight.  45 and sunny today.  Trees dripped some.  Plan to collect tomorrow.

Into the woods by 8:30 AM to bottle.  First milk can bottled by 11:45 AM.  Then finished and bottled a second milk can.  We still have one milk can of syrup to finish but we have room with two empty milk cans.

At 3:00 PM we went out collecting.  Not collecting yesterday turned out to be the correct decision.  The sap run finished overnight.  When we went out today the trees were not dripping much so we got the whole run.   The new hoses for the new pump arrived.  Just what we needed: flexible and food grade.  The new pump emptied the tank in 8 minutes.  We finished collecting by 4:30 PM.  Four experienced people make short work of it but the new pump also saved us 30 minutes.

Rain overnight.  Mid-30s.  Showers this morning then cloudy most of the day.  Upper 40s.  By 5:00 PM the sun appeared.  The ground is finally starting to get soft: the frost is coming out.

Forecast is 30 overnight and sunny and 50 tomorrow.     Back to the farmhouse by 5:15 PM.