Extended Syrup Season

We waited patiently for the syrup season to get going, but once it did – wow!  We have been so busy I haven’t had time to write.  It is now going to be the extended syrup season.  With temperatures cooler than normal this time of year, the trees are still producing an abundance of sap and it is crystal clear.  We actually had ice in a few of the buckets this weekend.  So far, we have collected 4,074 gallons of sap and have made 74 gallons of syrup.  A great year of plenty and we are going to extend into next weekend to take all that is given to us in the way of sap.  We had our season record sap collection of 690 gallons on Friday.  We collected 260 gallons yesterday, but that was about a third of the trees as we did not have any place to put it.  We left trees with full buckets out last night – so sad.

It was a full weekend of activities and a little excitement on Friday.  Kevin 2 had a bit of an accident when he fell on one of the buckets while gathering.  He ended up with nine stitches on his face – not good.  He also left just four of us gathering 450 gallons of sap.  Oh what fun the guys all had with that Friday.  Kevin 2 showed up Friday morning to find a first aid kit, padded bucket, and a rope tied to a chair to secure him in.  Clowns!  We also had new visitors yesterday, three boys ages 10, 8 and 4.  They were so cute, and loved gathering sap.  The weather was not great yesterday, a lot of wind and periods of rain and sleet.  But, during collection time, it was calm and fairly warm.  Perfect for the boys.

After much discussion, we have decided to leave the taps in for another week.  We are looking at a warmer week, so as long as the buds are not out, we may get one more run in at the weeks’ end.  The weather forecast is calling for freezing temps on Thursday.  We are planning to pulls taps on Saturday afternoon.  This will be a memorable season for sure!