We Have Syrup!
March 8, 2014
The conditions were perfect for sugar making today. The temperature was in the 40s and the sun was shining. Having thawed my 30 gallons of frozen solid sap with a space heater, I lit the fire at about 6:30am and things started boiling quickly.
Not being too sure about the event even happening, I didn't advertise to anyone, but Eric saw the smoke and thankfully kept me company all day. Markus stopped by for lunch, and Mike stopped by to say hello knowing it was a perfect day for sugarin'. With only 30 or so gallons of sap, the yield was just under 1 gallon of syrup. The good news is that everything went perfectly. Some adjustments to the evaporator enabled me to keep a good fire going the whole time. Additional filtering easily provided clear syrup. And I really appreciated the bottling rig from last year.
I also tapped a few more trees figuring I need to take advantage of the upcoming week's good weather to gather enough sap for a significant boil next weekend. The weather should be just as nice and perfect for visitors.
