News
Here is all the news. Even the old news... 
2020 Season Closure
February 24, 2021
I'm writing this at the start of the 2021 season. I can barely remember the details of last season except that it was unremarkable but successful. The COVID-19 virus became a reality for everyone in March and I had mostly solo boils. I started working-from-home on March 13th, and pictured below is c... (Read More)
Mid Season 2020
February 22, 2020
Things are happening here at Mt Kisco Maple. I have already had two small boils, producing just under one gallon of syrup each time. The sap collections have not been huge, but having 20 taps provides some options even during a slow week. Collecting around 45 gallons and running it through the rever... (Read More)
Tree Tapping 2020
January 26, 2020
Typically I tap the trees on Super Bowl Sunday, but the weather conditions have all the maple sugarers champing at the bit, and I could hold out no longer. When you seek the help of teenagers, you have to wait unitl they wake up (after noon). Scott was available to assist with the drilling, ta... (Read More)
Bottling the Last Batch
March 23, 2019
Splitting up the boiling and bottling processes has made everything more manageable, as they can both take a long time, especially at higher volumes. Water boils at 212 degrees, and syrup boils at 219. I got my near-syrup up to a boil and it was already at 215. You have to keep an eye on the pot as... (Read More)
Time to Pull the Taps
March 22, 2019
Only a few trees have been producing sap, and I have never done a boil past March 17th, in fear that the syrup would be too dark and bitter - which is what happens late in the season. So with the help of a few more dogs, I took my little red wagon, pulled out the taps and gathered buckets and lids. ... (Read More)
Third Boil of 2019
March 17, 2019
Conditions have been perfect for sap production, and a few days resulted in 25 gallons of sap each. In no time I had over 150 gallons of sap. I used the days ahead of the scheduled boil date to put the reverse osmosis system to good use, reducing the sap to around half the volume and 5% sugar. My n... (Read More)
Second Boil of 2019
February 24, 2019
A good week of sap harvesting, along with good weather and an open schedule, allowed for another boil on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The Reverse Osmosis (RO) system processed the sap on Friday, which removed half of the water prior to boiling. I am really appreciating the time and effort saved in u... (Read More)
First Boil of 2019
February 9, 2019
The reverse osmosis system worked as expected, and Friday morning, I had around 25 gallons of sap with a sugar content of nearly 4%. Unfortunately, it was also a rainy morning, but a freeze was expected for Saturday and Sunday, so I decided to boil what I had on my own. The rain cleared up, the sun... (Read More)
Reverse Osmosis
February 7, 2019
Maple sap is basically water. The clear liquid drips out of the tree drop-by-drop and has only a tiny bit of sugar in it. It can be measured with a refractometer and the sugar content is generally only about 2%. It gets to be syrup by removing most of the water, traditionally by boiling (see How Syr... (Read More)
Tree Tapping 2019
February 3, 2019
In keeping up with the traditional pre-Super Bowl tree tapping, 20 taps are now in! I am ramping up this year to make up for a less-than-average 2018. The boys have the flu, so I didn't have any extra hands to assist, so I loaded up my Mobile Tapping Station (MTS) and got to it. Mobile Tapping Sy... (Read More)
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