2014 Season
April 26, Saturday
The pails are washed and drying in the garage. All that is left is to wash the spiles and we do that in the dishwasher. That’s the easiest part of the clean-up job. It’s a wrap!
April 24, Thursday
The dirty job of cleaning the evaporator was completed today! Always glad to get this out of the way for the year.
Dirty job!
April 23, Wednesday
We pulled the pails today. We turn them upside down in the woods to let the sap drain, then collect them for washing. About half the pails had viable sap in them but it wouldn’t have been enough to collect and boil.
April 22, Tuesday
We finished bottling syrup for the year, making a total of 60 gallons of syrup for the year. This is about average for us.
April 21, Monday
And just like that, it’s over! We collected and boiled for the last time today. They trees are starting to bud out and the sap is starting to get cloudy. The sap is not running at all today with temperatures in the 60s. We collected 175 gallons of sap today, boiled that down, and bottled about 8½ gallons of syrup. We plan to finish bottling tomorrow and start clean up–our least favorite part of the maple syrup season. As usual, we were sorry to see the season end. It’s never long enough.
April 20, Sunday
Happy Easter! We had a good day. I was at the sugarbush boiling by 4AM, Linda relieved me at 6AM and I collected using the 6-wheeler and 5 gallon buckets. There wasn’t much sap (160 gallons) so this worked fine. We finished boiling at 3:30PM and plan to collect and boil again tomorrow. The soft maples are starting to bud out so the season will be coming to an end soon.
April 19, Saturday
I was at boiling by 2AM today. Linda came over a little after 6AM and took over the evaporator while I started collecting. On the second trip out, the axle broke on the collection trailer. I retrieved it with the tractor and set up the “back up” trailer. But, the back up trailer is too wide for some of the trails. With the help of Bob and John we were able to finish collecting but it was muddy, hard work. A low pressure system is moving in and the sap isn’t running very well. We’re going to try to collect tomorrow just using the ATVs. If that doesn’t work, our season may be over. Our “Good Friday” was followed by a very disappointing Saturday.
April 18, Friday
Linda and I went over to the sugarbush a little before noon to collect sap. The low last night was 14º and the sap was frozen solid in the pails. By late morning it had thawed enough to collect and was a beautiful day to be in the woods. We threw out the ice that remained in the pails, using the poor man’s reverse osmosis. The resulting sugar content was 4.4%. We collected about 300 gallons of sap; not very much since we hadn’t collected in eight days. The temperature was in the low 50s in the afternoon and the sap was running really well. It was a Good Friday!
Beautiful day in the woods!
April 17, Thursday
“Unusual” seems to be the new norm for syrup season. We got almost a foot of snow yesterday and it looks and feels like January. Sap isn’t running but we hope to be able to collect and boil tomorrow. We haven’t collected since last Friday but most pails are only about half full. We bottled a little over 8 gallons of syrup today so we’re all caught up.
Snow, snow, go away!
A winter wonderland–but it’s April!
April 16, Wednesday
We’ve been shut down for the past several days. We got the call on Saturday that our first grandchild was coming soon. And he did! Marshall Eugene arrived on 4-14-14 under a lunar eclipse. The universe was celebrating and so were we. It was love at first sight for everyone. What joy! It’s back to syruping tomorrow.
Bradley Eugene Wildes holding Marshall Eugene Wildes for the first time.
April 11, Friday
We collected a very small amount of sap today, added it to what we had left from yesterday’s collection and boiled it off. We plan to bottle tomorrow. This is the first day that we’ve been able to collect with the ATV. The snow if finally starting to disappear and it’s feeling more like spring.
Snow depth indicator!
April 10, Thursday
We collected 340 gallons of sap today and made about 7 gallons of syrup. There’s still about 100 gallons of sap to boil off and we’ll do that tomorrow. The highlight of the day was a visit from the after school group at Winter Grade School, grades K-4. About 25 children and adults toured the sugarbush. I explained the syrup making process then we all enjoyed vanilla ice cream with maple syrup. It was a fun afternoon.
Explaining the sap collection process to the Winter grade school students.
Explaining the syrup making process to the Winter grade school students.
April 9, Wednesday
We bottled 20½ gallons of beautiful light amber syrup today. There was sap in the pails but not enough to collect. When we finished bottling, the sap was flowing good. We’re planning to collect and boil tomorrow.
April 8, Tuesday
Linda, Otis, and I collected this morning. There wasn’t enough sap in the pails to need any additional help. We collected around 90 gallons of sap and made an additional 2 gallons or so of syrup. A front came through yesterday afternoon bringing light rain and we think that’s what shut off the sap flow. Sap is flowing today but not real well even with temperatures in the 50s. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. It’s shaping up to be another unusual season.
April 7, Monday
We collected and boiled today. I was over at the sugar bush at 2:30AM to finish boiling what we collected yesterday. Linda took over the evaporator at 6:30AM and I collected along with Bob and our neighbor, Warren. Most pails only had a quart or so of sap and we collected about 250 gallons. We had a low last night of 26º and a high in the mid 50s. We finished boiling off what we collected around 2PM and called it a day. We had several visitors today and always enjoy showing off the operation and having some company. Sap is running and we’re planning to collect and boil again tomorrow. We’ve made about 25 gallons of syrup so far.
Foggy morning
Randy, John, Steve, and Bill discussing the day’s activities (and other things).
April 6, Sunday
We thought that all we would be able to do today is collect, but thanks to help from Bob, Randy, and Dave, we were able to collect and boil. Many pails were overflowing and we collected 450 gallons of sap and made 7 gallons of syrup. I plan to start boiling early tomorrow and Linda will man the evaporator while the guys collect. It was 53º today and we’re supposed to have similar weather all week. Snow is melting but there’s still a lot in the woods.
Randy, Bob, Dave, and Steve relaxing after a hard day of collecting. Thanks, guys, for the help.
April 4, Friday
First boil of the season! I started up the evaporator at 5:15AM and finished at 2:30PM. We got about 8 gallons of light syrup. Love the smell of sap boiling! As predicted, we got about 8″ of snow overnight and today, which shut off the sap flow. I’m planning to clear trails with the tractor tomorrow and collect again on Sunday. Looks like good sap weather for the next week.
April snowstorm
Steve, Otis, and I boiling for the first time this season.
First draw-off of the season.
April 3, Thursday
I thought that the hardest thing we would do this year is put taps out with snowshoes. I was wrong. Linda, Otis, and I collected today without snowshoes and in soft snow up to our knees. It was tough going but we got it done. However, the woods echoed with cries of “sap hauler down!” It took 5 hours to collect, over twice what it would take under normal conditions. Even though some pails have been out for over a week, the sap was crystal clear with a sugar content of 2.75%. We plan to have our first boil tomorrow. It will be a good day to boil since a foot of snow is predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Another crazy season is underway!
Collecting for the first time!
April 2, Wednesday
I was able to get some trails cleared with the tractor on Monday and Tuesday. Linda, Otis, and I went out this morning (no snowshoes!) and put out another 19 pails. It was 10° last night so the snow was frozen enough that we could walk, but not without difficulty. Most pails have some sap in them and we’re hoping to collect tomorrow.
March 30, Sunday
We were out in the woods at 7AM with a temperature of 34°. We ran into trouble right away with the soft snow. I fell 5 times, Linda fell once, and Otis was constantly breaking through the snow. We stopped after putting out 37 pails before anyone got hurt. I finished repairing the chimney on the wood stove at the sugar shack. When the snow came off the roof, it took down the whole chimney. It was quite a job to repair it, but it’s done now. We’re hoping for rain this week to bring down the snow pack so we can finish putting out the last 82 pails.
High wire act!
March 29, Saturday
The temperature was 14° this morning and we wanted to get an early start in order to be out of the woods before the snow got soft. We were putting out taps by 7:30AM and finished putting out 121 taps at 11:15AM. Sap was running on some trees, just not very much. It’s supposed to be near 40° today. We’ll see how things look in the buckets tomorrow. We hope to finish putting out taps tomorrow. It was a slow, hard day but we’re proud of what these two old people accomplished today. We’ll all sleep good again tonight.
Brad and Otis coming back with a fresh battery for the drill.
March 28, Friday
No activity yesterday due to the weather: rain, freezing rain, sleet, and 3″ of snow. But, it made for a beautiful morning in the woods today. The sap is running, which surprised us. We put out 92 taps but stopped when the weather warmed up, the snow started getting soft and Brad, Linda, and Otis all started falling. Hoping to finish putting out our 400 taps this week end when warmer weather is predicted.
Beautiful morning in the woods!
Man down!
Woman down!
March 26, Wednesday
We were tired of waiting, so we started putting out taps, even though the temperature was -10°this morning! This is the latest that we’ve ever put out taps and the first time that we’ve had to use snowshoes to do so. We loaded the pails in an otter sled because neither the ATVs nor tractor can make it through the 24″ of snow still in the woods. We put out 68 taps before the binding broke on my snowshoe. We called it a day.
Brad and Otis