MapleAcres

Its a quite a workout opening the trails.  The H tractor does not have power steering so its all arms.  When the front tires turn sideways and snow plow it takes a lot arm strength to steer.  It some places its too deep to drive through so the bucket is needed to dig a path.  Only one section of trails need opening yet.  But we may skip that if we do not tap that section of woods.

103 taps out today.  We hope for 125 to 150 more taps.  Maybe we can finish tomorrow.  We will have help to get the building ready.  Weather forecast for the coming week looks promising with freeze/thaw cycles.

100  taps today.  The snow was a little better this afternoon because it was warmer today.  18 over night and up to 40 during the day.  The warmer temperature helped the snow pack down after walking over it.  But even through it was 40 it did not melt much.  It was cloudy.  We need the warm sun to start melting.  The forecast called for a wintery mix of snow/sleet.  But nothing came.

There are still trails in the woods that need to be opened.   Its a real struggle with the tractor to drive through and open the trails.   And it was not packing down either so next time through it was still a struggle.  If it warms over the weekend as forecast then we can drive through to pack down the trail.

And we begin season 97.

70 taps out today.  Was trying for 100 but feet got wet and cold.    The snow is brutal.  Its 18” to 20” deep but the depth is not the problem.  The snow is very fine.  It does not bind or pack.  It envelops your feet.  Its like walking in very fine sand.  Takes a lot of energy to get through.

Got back to Wisconsin Feb 26.  Spent the past week washing buckets and spouts.  Still trying to get the feel of starting the tractor.  During off season we had the electrical completely redone on the H.  The wiring was old, bad and incorrect.  Now the battery actually holds a charge.  And we have head lights!  Its been 35-40 years since they worked.     Its just a little different feel now to start it that I am still getting used to.

Also fixed the tire on the wagon.  That become a problem last season.   Fortunately we got through but it was dicey a few times.  The wagon uses 15” tires which are had to get used because a lot of people use 15” tires for wagons and trailers.

We had a storm in August that broke off a large limb from a tree.  It fell on the electrical wire to the syrup building.  It snapped off the power pole.   It was just a year ago we put in the 100 amp/220 volt circuit.  Repairing that was an unexpected expense.

Its been a very cold winter.  Second or third coldest on record.  Very deep frost.  The East Twin river by us may be frozen solid.  Lake Michigan is 89% frozen over.   There have been around 50 days of below zero.  A few days had wind chills of -50.  No major snow storms, but a steady stream of 2”-4” of snow.    We have around 60” for the Winter so far.

It was only 25 today.  But it was sunny and the sun warms the trees.  The sap is starting to move in the trees.   Quite a few of the taps were wet.  Sunday the weather breaks with highs in the mid 30’s.  So its time to get the taps out.