2022 Season
May 13 (Friday)
Some final thoughts. I am going to stop saying that it was another unusual season. Every season seems to be “unusual” in a different way. Our season had a very slow start as we waited 19 days after we put out pails to collect for the first time. But the sap ran good the last 10 days of the season and we ended up having an above average year, making 84¼ gallons. We collected for the first time on March 20 and last year our season ended on March 28. Virtually all of this season was in winter-like conditions. The sap just stopped running three weeks before the trees budded out.
Linda and I took down all of the pails in 4½ hours on Monday, May 2. Temps were in the 40’s with rain. I cleaned the evaporator the next day under sun and 50’s. The milk pails got cleaned on the 4th.
Washing the pails was the last and biggest job. I washed everything at the sugar bush for the first time and that worked well. We always washed the pails at the house but that of course involved moving the pails to and from there. It was easier to just haul water to the sugar bush and wash there. I got half the pails done on Monday, May 9, and finished up the next day.
Our temperatures are finally warming up. It’s been in the 70’s all week. So that’s a wrap on another fun season. Thanks to everyone who helped to make it so. We couldn’t do it without you!!
We raised our prices this year due to the rising cost of glass. We are charging $8.50/pint and $16/quart.
Cleaning the evaporator is definitely the dirtiest job!
April 27 (Wednesday)
Our third straight day of bottling and we got it done! We were bottling the first batch a little after 9 AM and finished in 35 minutes. The second batch was done a little before 11 AM, and we finished the third batch at noon. Glad to have the syrup all in bottles!! We bottled 23½ gallons today.
The sun has finally decided to shine but it is still very cold. The low last night was 20° and there was skim ice on the lake this morning. Winter just won’t let go.
Linda labeled some bottles while I cleaned up. The pails are still out so she went to check a few. Most pails had almost nothing in them and one was overflowing. But none of the sap looked good. It was either yellow or milky. So we are officially declaring the season over and moving on to the dreaded job of clean-up.
April 26 (Tuesday)
We had a day almost identical to yesterday except without the problems. We did two batches of syrup and both went very quickly. I came over at 7:30 and we were bottling at 9. The second batch was almost syrup when we started so we were bottling again at 10:25. We were doing quarts and finished bottling in 20 minutes. These are the first quarts that we have bottled in two years. We bottled just over 18 gallons of syrup today. The syrup we bottled yesterday and today is quite a bit darker than what we bottled earlier.
As I said yesterday, spring isn’t quite here yet and today proved it. The high was 32° and it snowed off and on all day. This whole season has felt like winter. We didn’t have one spring-like day for collecting. But we are going to have more syrup than average once we get it all bottled. When the season started we were worried about getting any sap at all. We have three more batches to finish and hope to do that tomorrow.
April 25 (Monday)
Today we begin the bottling. We think it will take three days. I was finishing syrup at 7:45 AM. Linda came over around 9 and we were bottling the first batch at 10:45 AM and finished at 11:20. We started bottling the second batch at 11:45, finishing at 12:30. The second batch was at syrup when we started heating it so it went fast. I read that sap is syrup at 7.7° over the boiling point of water so I set the draw-off at 7.5° over boiling. That worked well and has cut down on the time it takes to finish.
We had several potentially serious issues today, but fortunately no one got hurt. I forgot to close a valve on the filter press and Linda got sprayed with hot syrup. Most of it landed on her blue jeans and she didn’t get burned, just had to go home and change clothes. Next, we dropped an empty bottle and broke it, and lastly, a quart bottle broke as I was filling. That has never happened before. Fortunately, I wasn’t burned either. We bottled just shy of 18 gallons of syrup today.
The ice went off the lake today and we saw our first loon. But the high today was only 37° so spring isn’t here quite yet.
Syrup, syrup everywhere!
Running out of places to put it!
April 22 (Friday)
I had a successful hunt and couldn’t be happier. Linda was able to call in a nice one for me. So our turkey season is over for this year. The maple syrup season is definitely over. We plan to bottle on Monday.
Here I am with my turkey.
April 21 (Thursday)
Jimmy, Linda, and I were all at the sugar bush at 5:15 AM. I started boiling at 5:30 and Jimmy and Linda headed to the condo. They heard and saw multiple birds. They each got a nice one and were back in at 7:30 AM. Each bird weighed around 20 pounds. Jimmy’s had a 10″ beard and Linda’s had a 11½”. This was Linda’s first turkey and she was thrilled! Many thanks to Jimmy for sharing his expertise, especially his calling ability. Great day!
We think that the season is over. The sap isn’t running at all even though the trees are nowhere near ready to bud out. We have over 60 gallons of syrup to bottle so that will keep us busy most of next week.
I plan to turkey hunt in the morning and Linda will come along to call. We plan to take the weekend off and start bottling on Monday.
Linda and Jimmy with their turkeys.
April 20 (Wednesday)
It’s opening day of first period turkey season and I was out before sun up to try to get one. I hunted here at the sugar bush until 8 AM. I saw and heard plenty of birds but none of them came close enough to shoot. Bob, Pat, and I were out collecting at 8:30 with Bill driving. The sap is crystal clear and there is lots of it. At least half of the pails were overflowing or close to it. We had four full loads of sap and ended up with 590 gallons (2% sugar). I didn’t start boiling it because I want to go hunting again this afternoon.
Jimmy and Linda hunted on Kevin’s land and didn’t hear or see anything. They stopped hunting at 9 AM and Linda helped us finish collecting. The wind has picked up and it’s supposed to rain this afternoon. Jimmy and Linda plan to hunt in my stand and I will hunt out of Tanner’s stand on the south end of the property.
We were all in our stands at 3:30 PM and it started to rain at 4 pm. We stayed in our stands until 5 PM and called it quits. Jimmy and Linda are going back to my stand tomorrow morning and I plan to boil.
Overflowing pails!
April 19 (Tuesday)
Linda got home yesterday afternoon so there were four of us out collecting with Bill driving. There wasn’t a lot of sap but what we got is still crystal clear. I stayed back after the first load and started boiling. Lloyd, Jimmy, and Linda finished collecting 164 gallons of sap (2.8% sugar).
During the first draw-off, the temperature topped 230°. I ended up dumping some sap into the finishing pan to save it from burning. But that really messes up the boil.
It’s a beautiful sunny day with a high of 44° and the sap is running great. But turkey season starts tomorrow. We will have to figure out when we can collect. Jimmy, Linda, and I all have first period tags and we are all planning to hunt. With luck we will all get our turkey tomorrow.
Bill and Jimmy taking a rest.
Jimmy and Lloyd enjoying coffee and a conversation.
April 18 (Monday)
We have been shut down for a week but the sap is finally running again. Linda is on her way home from Slinger. She was down there for Marshall’s 8th birthday and for Easter. So, it was just the guys today. We headed out at 8:30 and followed our usual routine. Bill drove with Lloyd, Jimmy, Bob, and I collecting. I stayed back after the first load to start boiling. We collected 354 gallons of sap (3.2% sugar) in 2 hours.
It looks and feels like a snowy November day. We got almost 2″ of snow overnight and it snowed off and on all day with the wind picking up later in the day. We were surprised that the sap was running today but it looks like we will have enough to collect tomorrow.
We have no idea how much longer the sap will run. We are supposed to get a big warm up later in the week along with rain, so it may be over soon. Time will tell.
April 11 (Monday)
We headed into the woods at 8:20 AM not expecting to collect much sap and we didn’t. We finished in two loads in an hour with Bill driving and Mike, Bob, Linda, and I collecting. I stayed back after the first load to start boiling. We only collected 184 gallons of sap (3.0% sugar) and I finished boiling it down in 4 hours.
The weather is going to turn again tomorrow. We are supposed to get rain starting tomorrow and turning to snow. The high on Thursday is only supposed to be 35°. We could get up to 2″ of snow. We aren’t expecting the sap to run. But the temperatures for next week look great. We are just hoping that the trees don’t start budding out before then. Time will tell. Mother Nature is in control as usual.
The pails are dry, nothing dripping. We all plan to take the day off tomorrow.
April 10 (Sunday)
It was a beautiful morning to be in the woods and we had lots of good help. We needed it too! Most of the pails were overflowing. Bill’s son, Ron, was here visiting and came along to help. A really nice guy who looks just like his Dad.
I stayed back after the first load to clean a tank that we expected to need for the sap. Bill, Ron, Jimmy, Bob, Gene, and Linda finished collecting in four loads, all of them full. We ended up with 635 gallons of sap with a sugar content of 2.8%. If we have a couple more days like this, we will be where we should be as far as sap. It got up to 56° today and the sap is running good. We are planning to collect tomorrow.
Bob waiting to dump his sap.
Trail boss Bill.
Ron and Gene waiting for Bill to arrive.
Jimmy and Bob hitching a ride with Bill.
April 9 (Saturday)
We were out collecting by 8:30 AM. Lots of ice in the pails and the sap was spotty. Some pails were overflowing and others had nothing but ice in them. Jimmy, Linda, and I collected the first two loads with Bill driving. I stayed back after the second load while the rest finished collecting. We ended up with 231 gallons of sap, 3% sugar. I switched sides on the draw off so the first draw off was an adventure as usual. Alarms were blaring but the pan didn’t burn!
It’s a beautiful, sunny day (finally) so there should be plenty of sap to collect tomorrow. We were surprised at how much snow is on the ground. But with it getting so cold last night (21°), the footing was great and no MUD!
April 7 (Thursday)
We followed the same routine as yesterday. I was here at 8 AM and Linda arrived at 9:30. We finished bottling at 10:45, just over 9 gallons. This batch is slightly darker than what we bottled yesterday.
There is about a pint of sap in most pails so we may be able to collect tomorrow. We got about an inch of snow overnight and it has been snowing off and on all morning. The weather is supposed to straighten out this weekend but next week looks rainy. We will hope for the best.
April 6 (Wednesday)
We didn’t have enough sap to collect yesterday and it started raining and snowing last night as predicted. So, we are bottling for the first time this season. The syrup is lighter than anything we got last year. I was here at 8 and we were through bottling at 1:15 PM. We got almost 16 gallons in bottles today. We have one more batch to bottle and plan to do that tomorrow. We are hoping that the sap will be running again this weekend. But for now it feels great to have some finished product!
This is what spring looks like this year.
The finished product!
April 4 (Monday)
There wasn’t enough sap to collect yesterday, but we had plenty today. Our trail boss, Bill, requested that we start a little earlier before it got too muddy. So we were out in the woods at 7:40 AM collecting. Bill, Lloyd, Mike, Jimmy, and Linda collected 586 gallons of sap in four loads, our highest amount so far this season. Sugar content was a little lower at 3%. Even with the earlier start, we had to deal with a lot of mud and there is still some snow in the woods.
I stayed back after the first load and started boiling. Boiling went really well today. The evaporator was keeping up with the R.O. and we were getting long draw offs several times an hour. It took just over 7 hours to boil everything.
Our dog, Otis, is old and not getting around very well but he really wanted to come with us today. So we brought him over to the sugar bush and he even ventured out into the woods with the sap haulers. He was smart enough to hitch a ride back with Bill. Otis will be 14 on Halloween so this is probably his last maple syrup season. He is such a great dog and we will treasure whatever time we have left with him.
We had some visitors stop in today looking for syrup. We need to get some in bottles. But we are planning to collect again tomorrow which may be the last time for a few days. We are supposed to get significant rain Wednesday through Friday. If that happens, we plan to bottle. We already have enough syrup for two batches.
Kisses for Lloyd from Otis.
Otis with his buddies, Jimmy and Mike.
Jimmy with a load of sap.
Steam is rising.
We had a good boil going today!
The stack temperature got up to 900° today. The sign of a good boil!
April 2 (Saturday)
After a 12 day shutdown we were finally able to collect today. We’ve had two bad ice storms along with snow, rain, and cloudy skies. No wonder the sap wasn’t running! But we saw our first robin today and the temperatures are improving. The low last night was right at freezing and the high today was 42°. Not great, but better.
We had a full contingent of sap haulers today and we needed them. Bill, Lloyd, Bob, Linda, and Jimmy collected 406 gallons of high sugar (3.5%) sap today. I helped with the first two loads then stayed back to start boiling. It took me 5 hours to boil everything down.
This is the first time we’ve collected this year where we could get around easily in the woods. We have been fighting snow and ice all season. The sap is running good and we expect to collect again tomorrow.
Here comes Bill!
Bob and Lloyd hauling.
Lloyd contemplating…
Jimmy taking a rest.
March 31 (Thursday)
Nothing to report. Weather has been very uncooperative. It got very cold last weekend and what sap there was in the pails froze solid. So I ended up dumping everything on Tuesday with help from Bill and Lloyd. We are hoping the sap will run tomorrow so we can collect on Saturday. The weather next week looks good. We are trying to remain optimistic. We continue to wait.
March 21 (Monday)
Bob, Pat, Linda, and I were out collecting again today by 9 AM. This was Pat’s first time helping and we enjoyed having him in the woods with us. I stayed back after the first load and starting boiling. There seems to always be some problem when I boil for the first time and this year was no exception. We sprung a leak on one of the draw-off connections. I made a temporary fix that I hope will last the season. Of course the leak started as soon as I lit the fire, so there were burning logs on the floor for awhile until I got the leak under control.
We collected 203 gallons of sap today that was 2.9% sugar, 4.8% after R.O. It took me 5¼ hours to finish boiling, making 5 gallons of syrup. It feels good to finally have some syrup made.
It got up to 48° today but only got down to 31° last night. We didn’t see any taps dripping when we were collecting today so we don’t expect to collect tomorrow.
First syrup of the 2022 season!
March 20 (Sunday)
Finally! The sap is running!! It started dripping Friday and there was enough to collect today but not enough to boil. I arrived at the sugar bush around 7 AM and checked pails. We were out collecting at 9 AM with Bill driving. Bob, Linda and I did the collecting. We collected 237 gallons in just over 2 hours. It was great to be back in the saddle again. The temperature has been in the 40’s and we have melted a lot of snow. We are down to about 6″ of snow in the woods so it’s a lot easier to get around. But traction isn’t good once it starts warming up. So we are trying to finish collecting early in the day and avoid any problems towing the sap trailer.
Bob and I collecting.
Bill, Bob, and Linda out collecting.
Bill and I unloading.
March 11 (Friday)
I put out the last 70 taps today for a total of 396. Linda is in Slinger for the weekend with our son and his family. It feels good to have all of the taps out before the sap is running. Now we wait.
March 10 (Thursday)
Conditions were even worse today than yesterday. It got down to -11° last night so there is a hard crust on the snow. Linda and I put out 100 taps in just over 2½ hours.
March 9 (Wednesday)
It was rough going today but Linda and I got 100 taps out in 3 hours. We had a low of 15° last night and it only got up to 24°. The snow was like quick sand but we managed to stay on our feet.
March 8 (Tuesday)
We had another beautiful day in the woods and got an earlier start than yesterday. Linda and I put out 75 taps today in 2 hours 10 minutes. I then spent a couple of hours grooming trails for tomorrow. It’s a little warmer today but still lots of ice. Feeling good about our progress.
Glittering ice. Beautiful!
Making progress on the taps.
Cries of “tapper down” were heard throughout the woods.
March 7 (Monday)
On this date last year we collected for the first time. But this is a much different year weather-wise. It just won’t warm up. We had an ice storm over the weekend and there is over 20″ of snow in the woods, ice covered of course. I spent several hours on the tractor yesterday clearing the trails where we put out taps today. We kept the taps as close to the trail as possible to make it easy on us and our sap haulers. The icy crust is so hard that it cuts your leg when breaking trail. It took Linda and me an hour and 40 minutes to put out 51 taps. We left Otis at home. He turned 13 last Halloween and isn’t doing too well. We are hoping that he will be able to ride in the UTV when we start collecting. He loves spending time with our helpers.
The low last night was 21° with a high of 29°. It looks like it may warm up enough next week for the sap to run but it’s hard to say with all of this snow on the ground. But, we can take our time putting out taps this week. We plan to put out taps in the morning and then I will clear trails for the next day.
A beautiful day to start tapping!
One tap down, 399 to go.
Lots of snow!!