Short sugaring season

temperatures over this week and last have been unseasonably warm... er, hot. we hit the 70's over the weekend, during a time of year when we're typically dealing with a 12" snowpack and still paying for plowing.

For us, this has meant a very brief surgaring season. With only 30 taps, we don't make much syrup in a good year, but this year only managed about 5 quarts. We plan to keep the buckets up a few more days and see if the nights get cold again, but are pretty much resigned to being finished. Here are a few more shots of our mini-arch and the family working together sugaring...

Sugaring season

Its sugaring season at Northlook Farm. Grampy Tester came down from Barton this Saturday, and we hung our modest collection of 30 sap buckets. We don't have any big goals, just enough to keep ourselves in syrup for the year. Last year, we produced 3 gallons, and still have just shy of one left. With warm temperatures predicted over the next two weeks (too warm, daytime highs close to 50, and not freezing at night), we have limited expectations, but I would be happy with at least two gallons.

The first year we boiled, we did it in the house on the stove: Not reccomended! The following year, Grampy gave us is old 'mini-evaprator', a 2'x3' pan on a barrel wood stove, chich we set up in the former chicken coop. While greatly improving our output, it is agonizingly slow to boil down 40 gallons of sap to make the 1 gallon of liquid gold: I generally try to plan a full day event out of it, but with both Loralee and I working outside the home now, timing will be tough. Suffice to say, we have the next few weekends planned for us. As the years progress, my sugaring plans become more ambitious. I could probably max out at 100-150 taps with the sugar maples we have, but that may be enough to support a 2' x 6' pan, which would boil faster and more efficiently. Time will tell: We have more ideas than money!