MapleAcres

Today started sunny. Got up to 48. This afternoon turned cloudy. At 9:15 am we headed out with the tractor and collecting tank to pick up whatever sap was there. As we emptied the pail we took it off the tree and turned it upside down to drain and dry out. We ended up collecting 350 gallons of sap. That makes 3070 gallons of sap for the season. We started boiling at 2:30 pm. By 11:30 pm we had 200 gallons processed. And then we bottled 21 quarts yet tonight.

Today’s count
350 gallons of sap
3070 total gallons of sap for the season
21 quarts of syrup bottled today
262 quarts of syrup so far for the season
3 visitors

It was down to 20 last night. Today was sunny and up to 45. The trees did drip. Not enough to collect yet, but we should be able to collect tomorrow. And that may be our last collecting as we start to bring the season to a close. Several reasons.

1.) We already have over 60 gallons (241 quarts) of syrup which is our “normal.”
2.) We are running out of firewood. Our wood shed is kind’a bare.
3.) We are running out of time. We have other commitments we need to get to next week so we have to wrap this up.

We started washing bottles off today. When we fill the bottles they always get sticky. Some syrup always seems to spill over. Before we put our labels on we have to wash them off. And we are having a special sticker label made up saying “1918-2008 90 Years.”

Today’s count
2 visitors

Today started cold,windy and cloudy. We didn’t t get into the woods until about 9:00 am. Started the fire under the evaporator. Our goal was to empty our storage tanks. We had about 150 gallons of sap. By Noon we had a batch of syrup ready. By the time we had that all filtered, finished and bottled it was 3:00 pm and our tanks were almost empty. By 4:30 pm we were in back in the house.

The question now is will there be more sap? We have had a good run. Tomorrow and Thursday will tell the tale. Its forecast to be sunny and in the 40s. If we don’t get sap we are done.

Today’s count
11 quarts of syrup bottled
241 quarts of syrup total
2 visitors
A dusting of snow

Today started cloudy. Rain was forecast starting around Noon. Since it wasn’t raining in the morning we went out to collect. We expected some sap but were surprised to pickup 230 gallons. We finished collecting about 1:00 pm just as the rain started. Our timing was perfect. It would not have been fun collecting in the rain. Its better to collect in snow than rain. We had to make a water run in the rain which was unpleasant. But the rain is making the last of the snow disappear fast. Only large piles remain.

We bottled more. The syrup is getting darker. The season may be ending. We will see what Wednesday and Thursday bring. Its forecast for sunny days and freezing nights. There may be a sap run. If not, we are finished.

Today’s count
230 gallons of sap
18 quarts bottled
230 total quarts bottled
1/2” rain

Today was cloudy and cool. It did warm up to 37 or so, but without the sun, no new sap. We spent the day boiling down yesterday’s collection. Our tanks are empty now. When everything is finished we should have around 60 gallons of finished syrup now, which is a normal year. There may be a few runs yet, but we think the biggest runs are past. Its been a busy week. Our woodshed is looking bare. We have burned a lot of wood.

Today’s count
21 quarts of syrup bottled
212 total quarts of syrup

The day was sunny and warm, but with a east wind. It was cold overnight, 20, so it took a while for the trees to warm up. We went to visit another maple syrup producer. They tap 2500. They said they were having a good year too. When we got back we went out to collect. To our surprise we collected 450 gallons of sap. We did not think there was that much sap, but it must have dripped pretty good after warming up. We bottled more too. A still lots of sugar sand. If we run through the filter press twice we get clear syrup. Its more work, but worth it. We boiled until about 1:00 am.

Today’s count
450 gallons of sap
17 quarts of syrup bottled
190 total quarts of syrup

The day stated sunny, but cold. It was down to 22 overnight. About 1:00 pm the wind stopped and it warmed. The trees dripped some, but not enough to collect. Maybe tomorrow. Its forecast to be similar to today.

We did get caught up with bottling. Bottled three times. About 49 quarts. And we emptied the storage tanks. We are ready for more sap.

About gloves. We wear gloves often. We need them when bringing in wood, firing the evaporator or handling the hot syrup. But we also have to take them off often to wash things, read the hydrometer or handle more delicate things. Often we take off the gloves to do something, but when we need them again a few minutes later we can’t find them. We spend a lot of time walking around looking for our gloves. Its a small building and you would think we would remember, but when you are busy its hard to remember where the gloves are. We often laugh at ourselves for running around looking for our gloves.

Today’s count
0 gallons new sap
173 quarts total syrup bottled

Cloudy and cold today. No new sap, but that gave us a chance to catch up. In the last 24 hours we boiled down 500 gallons of sap. We have 160 gallons left. Got done some important tasks today. The part came for the filter press. Got it installed. We had about 80 quarts of almost finished syrup waiting in milk can. Without the part we were going to be in trouble.

Got a 15′ garden hose to use with the pump for the collecting tank. Dropping it in the opening at the top of the tank works much better for emptying it. Another problem solved.

Around Noon we had to stop boiling to clean our evaporator pan. While shutting down was going to cost us time from boiling, the build up of sugar sand on the pan was preventing us from boiling at full capacity. Not cleaning it now was going to cost us more in time from reduced boiling capacity then taking the two hours to clean it.

We have already collected more sap this season then all of last season. And the weather looks favorable for the next week.

Today’s count
500 gallons of sap pushed through the evaporator
0 gallons of new sap
34 quarts of syrup
131 total quarts of syrup so far

We picked up 660 gallons of sap. The trees must have dripped late into the night yesterday because they were full today. We can only store 600 gallons. 250 gallons in one storage tank. 150 in another storage tank and then 200 in the collecting tank. We had to pickup and walk in the remaining 60 gallons and keep it in pails. We cooked sap until 1:30 am. Then when back out by 4:00 am to continue. A lot of work ahead today to finish this and get our filter press fixed so we can bottle.

And the pump for our collecting tank was operating very slow. We filled the collecting tank in about a half hour, but it was taking over an hour to empty. We switched the pull hose from the bottom of the tank to the top and it got back to normal pumping. The drain pipe must be clogged with leaves and twigs.

Today’s count
660 gallons of sap
0 quarts of syrup bottled
1 visitor

Today started with snow flakes. We got another dusting of snow. By 10:30 it cleared and the sun came out. Warmed to 46. Then the wind picked up about 3:30. The trees dripped some but not enough to collect. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and in the 40s. That is sap weather.

We spoke with a large producer in the central Wisconsin. We purchase our supplies from them. They have no sap yet. They tapped the end of February, but haven’t had any runs. Its been too cold and snowy. They are hopeful but it will be a late season for them. And for us too. A year ago it was 76 and that pretty much ended our season.

We us a special machine to filter the syrup. It has a hand pump which creates pressure to force the finished syrup through the filter to remove the sugar sand and any other impurities. We were finishing a batch of syrup today when the hand pump broke. So we did not bottle any syrup today. There is about 20 – 24 quarts close but has to be filtered. We should get the part we need by Thursday.

Today’s count
0 quarts syrup bottled
1 visitor
1 broken filter press
1 found candy thermometer