Category: maple syrup

More mistakes made this year, due to scheduling & weather constraints we let ~100 gallons of sap freeze in the tanks. Because I filled them too much, a thaw actually pushed a lot of concentrated sap out the top… lessons learned…

The stuff dripping out the top of the tank tastes quite sweet, and it’s fertilizing the lawn.

Fortunately we are also avoided a lot of mistakes we learned about last year. Boiling is much smoother a process now.

Helping?

Totally safe, no problem

The smell…

 

Finishing on the stove

Not captured in pictures, carrying 8 gallons of boiling liquid back home at night, on snow and ice, with a thrown back. Having a shed and proper snow handling equipment will make an amazing difference in the years to come.

The porcupine started exploring new paths, probably prompted by the warmer few days we had when we did the first round of sugaring.

Very tough sugaring so far, the weather isn’t cooperating. The conditions on the ground are horrible with ice and melting snow, you never know what will happen on the next step you take. Then you need to handle utensils in these conditions, next to a raging evaporator, glasses covered with steam, at night, by yourself. The potential is real for a freak accident that involves boiling, burning, impalement and maple syrup. We also had a wind storm which blew everything away but the cover on the evaporator thank god; a building around the evaporator will be very nice.

Some trees produce profusely

The sap wagon

Got stuck… had to shovel snow out from underneath the sap wagon

boiling away

Hello fogginess my old friend

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

The reward: 1.5 gallons of unadulterated maple sweetness