We’re still waiting for the sap to run here, it’s been cold and snowy all month. The last few winters were so warm and we were so busy that we never got to cross country ski! We took the rare opportunity yesterday to take the dogs for a spin. The woods and tubing look amazing covered in snow, but we’ll be happy to see it melt. Snow can act like a blanket keeping the ground frozen after a warmup, it could be 50°F but if the roots are frozen the sap won’t flow.

Last October we posted about our new releasers for two of our woods. They were successfully installed later that month and we finally had a chance to test them a week ago during a brief thaw. After tightening a few loose hose clamps, moving a thermostat, and exchanging incorrectly delivered motors, both of them pumping sap as expected! Still waiting on a warmup to collect anything substantial, but it’s great to see the new equipment working!

We actually finished tapping a week ago, but Mother Nature decided to give us a real winter this year for a change. Last Thursday we collected a few hundred gallons of sap when it briefly broke 32°F, just enough to test some new equipment. Surprisingly some new pieces worked perfect, while others that have been in place for years caused headaches. This week still looks frozen, we’ll catchup in the sugar shack, maybe next week the sap will flow!