The Cogs of Spring Begin to Turn - Maple Season

In my mind, I picture a great mechanism made up of all kinds of big and little cogs fitted together - like the inside of a very intricate clock.  During winter, those cogs have stood still and silent.  Maybe they've collected a little dust and maybe a cobweb or two.  But now, finally, those many cogs have begun to slowly, painfully, laboriously creak to a start.  

Maple season never truly ends, but the most labor intensive period of maple season - collecting and boiling sap - begins in a few short weeks.  We've begun cleaning out our evaporator pans, tidying and setting up our sugar shack, checking sap lines for squirrel damage, removing tree limbs that have fallen on the lines, installing new lines to new areas, and the myriad of other tasks that comprise Maple Season.    

The evaporator pans aren't too dirty.

Fitz power washes the evaporator pan.

Maple sap evaporator pan

Power washing the pan.

The cogs of spring have begun to turn.

I'm happy to see it come.

Pulling Taps And Battling "Red Brush"

Most of the maple taps have been pulled.  I just had one area to finish in a more remote part of the forest.  As I worked I became reacquainted with a fiendish shrub for which I just learned a new name.  

I've always simply called it "pricker bushes" but in this area, and maybe this is the correct term, it's called red brush.  When the weather is too hot to wear heavy canvas clothing (78-degrees yesterday!), and you're wearing jeans and a t-shirt, it can make pulling taps a misery!

Credit: www.dreamtime.com

It some areas it grows taller than my head.  I have a scratch across my forehead to attest to that!  As it grabs you it breaks off it's stickers into your clothing so that even if you pull yourself free, you still get a sharp point poking into you.  

By the time I finished yesterday (and I couldn't finish pulling the taps - I called my husband and told him we needed to get in with a weed whacker to clear some paths) I looked like I'd been in a fight with a bobcat!

Red brush.... I think pricker bush is much more accurate.

We've Boiled Down All The Sap

All the sap we collected is finally boiled down with a grand total of about 80 gallons of maple syrup made! A lot of it is quite dark.  

The maple taps get pulled today.

Crazy Maple Making Time

Making maple syrup takes quite a long time and we're in the middle of a rush of sap, so I haven't had much time to write.  Next time you're in the grocery store and wonder why in the world real maple syrup costs so much, here's a breakdown of why (and the sap season is only about 6 weeks long)!

Making Real Maple Syrup

Cut lots and lots of wood for the evaporator

Clear brush and fallen trees from maple lines, check sap lines for damage, install new sap lines (after putting together the spile section at home), wash out sap collection tanks, put sap collection tanks in place.  If you're lucky, there's not a couple of feet of snow on the ground while you're doing this. 

Clean evaporator and sap making equipment, make sure you have a really good supply of cut wood, check that lines don't leak, make sure collection pump works, make sure Reverse Osmosis machine works.  Make sure you have plenty of maple bottles (order more if necessary).

Tap trees (drill hole, tap in spile, repeat 1000 times or more)

Wait and discuss the weather

Pick up sap from collection taps (and sometimes get truck stuck in mud)

Pump sap from the tank in the back of the truck into the sap tanks in the sugar house

Run sap through reverse osmosis machine to take out some of the water and cut boiling time in evaporator

Build a fire in the evaporator and get the sap boiling.  Make sure all the sap levels are set correctly so that  you don't burn the boiling pans.  Make sure all the correct valves are open or closed.  Check to see what the boiling point of water is that day and set the automatic draw off for 7-degrees above that.  

Wait, feed fire, check to make sure the sap isn't foaming up to run over the sides of the evaporator (it's like cooking candy).  This part takes hours.

Finally, when the maple gets to the right temperature you get a flow of syrup.  Check to make sure the syrup the correct consistency.  If not, you might need to pour it back in and readjust the temperature on the automatic draw off.   

Put some diatomaceous earth into hot syrup and run through multi stage filter press to remove impurities and cloudiness.  Check to see what grade of syrup you end up with.   

Run into bottling unit. Keep hot.

Put into bottles.  Put sealing lid on top, lay on sides until bottle cools.  

Put proper stickers on bottles with your farm name, address, etc, and the grade of syrup.

You finally have maple syrup you can sell!

___________________

 

There's the list of little things that I didn't add to this list (or forgot about!).  The little things that slow you down and perplex you.  Things like having to fix the leaks and drips on your hoses or trying to figure our why all the sudden the quick-connect from the back of the truck doesn't fit on the tanks (o-ring fell out).

Now that you know, you can really savor that next dollop of real maple syrup that you pour over your pancakes! 

1025 Gallons of Sap

Yesterday we had a sapalooza!  

I collected collected 850 gallons of sap and the person from whom we're buying sap delivered 175 gallons.  I wish I had taken pictures, but throughout the day it literally down-poured and I just wanted to get the job done!  

One of our sap collection points gets very, very muddy.  I feared that the rain would make the area impassable, but I managed to get in and out (though saying prayers under my breath the whole way as I drove with 300 gallons - about 2500 pounds - of sap sloshing around on the back of the truck!)

At the other pick up site, I put the hose into the tank in the back of the truck and it popped out as I started pumping.  It literally looked like a fire hose of sap going up into the air!  I very quickly turned off the pump and got the hose back in.   

This is yesterday's photo, but you can see how the collection tank is set up in the back of the truck. 

After I got the sap home I ran as much as I could through the reverse osmosis machine and fired up the evaporator to get the sap boiling.  

Sweet success. 

Successfully boiled and drawn off maple syrup

We Gottalotta Sap!

300 gallons of maple sap

And a lot more coming!

  

Will We Have Sap Today?

This morning the thermometer shivered at 10-degrees fahrenheit.  But according to the weather channel it's supposed to get up to a balmy 42-degrees today.  If this happens the maple sap should run like crazy!  Then I'll add pictures of (hopefully) full collection tanks to this blog.   

Sap update:  The temperature never got above 34-degrees yesterday and when I looked at the maple lines I could see the frozen sap inside them.  Today the temperature started at 32-degrees and I'm crossing my fingers for sap-flowing weather.  Thank you for your "warm" thoughts!

We Finally Have Maple Syrup!

Since we boiled sap for a long time the other day, when we started up again it didn't take very long for our condensed sap to get up to heat and boil off enough to become maple syrup!  

Our first jar of unfiltered maple syrup

We pulled a quart out of our first draw off  of syrup and discussed what we would do to it.  This is our $10,000 jar of maple and we thought maybe we should bathe in it!  But no.  Sunday morning I made a big batch of waffles and we poured it over.  Ab-solut-ely delicious!

Saturday night, as we boiled the collected sap, we learned the excitement and the tedium of making maple syrup.  We wait and wait for the temperature on our automatic draw off to go up high enough.  It climbs within a few tenths of a degree and you get all excited that it's going to get there - then the temperature drops a degree.  By the time it finally starts spitting maple syrup you can hardly stand it!  

After it draws off though, it's another hour to hour and a half of waiting, watching for foaming, feeding the fire, and standing around.  The great part of this was that we had friends come by to share our excitement.  We really, really enjoyed that. 

We made about 15 gallons of maple syrup on Saturday.  The temperature outside dropped again and the maple sap hasn't been flowing much, but the temperature is supposed to go up again tomorrow! 

Don't forget to go over to Homestead Revival for the Barn Hop!

Still No Maple Syrup

The reverse osmosis machine is finally fixed.  We ran our sap through and removed about 70% of the water.  Then we boiled and boiled the sap, but the it never quite thickened enough and got to the correct temperature (219.1-degrees) to be maple syrup.  

Worrying that we were doing something wrong, we called all of our maple producing friends and were told, "it just takes time." 

 I guess the first time you boil - before you're pushing condensed sap - it just takes a long time to get going. As our sap supplies got lower and the maple got thicker, but not quite thick enough, we decided we had to stop loading the evaporator with firewood and let it all cool down, because one of the worst things that can happen is you run out of sap, burn what's in your evaporator pans, and destroy the pans (a very expensive fix) in the process.  

Today, we have sap that's very close to being maple syrup and hopefully we'll collect more sap today and tomorrow and finally be able to finish it off.  

The learning curve is very high here!

Maple Production Glitches

We collected about 300 gallons of sap yesterday, but when we tried to get our Reverse Osmosis machine started, nothing happened.  It wouldn't start, wouldn't run.  Nothing.  The Reverse Osmosis (or R.O.) machine takes a lot of water out of the sap so that we don't have to spend hours and hours and hours boiling with the evaporator.  Sooo, about 11 p.m. last night I think the R.O. finally got working.  

When we tried to unload our sap from the back of the truck into the tanks in our maple building (sugar shack), we had a problem with the feed tube where the sap backed up and poured towards us onto the ground.  We ended up putting a quick connection onto the pump so that the sap would have to run into the tanks.  

Annoying.  Time consuming.  But, we hope to be boiling today!

We Fire Up The Maple Sap Evaporator

Yesterday was a banner day on Fitzgerald's Family Farm.  We worked on lines in the morning and in the afternoon we filled our evaporator with water and fired it up for the first time.

We started the day by going back to the area I had tapped and fixed all the damage I had marked.  Squirrels and chipmunks love to chew on maple sap lines!  They are a maple sap tappers nemesis.

Marked damaged line

Squirrel damage

Repairing the line

Fitz was very happy with this nice neat junction of sap lines.

We didn't see any bears or deer, but we found evidence that they'd been around!

Deer pooh

Bear pooh

Later that afternoon, we filled the evaporator with water, loaded and started the firebox, and heated the water up to boiling to clear up the impurities and oils that might be in the evaporator (it's brand new), and checked for leaks - none, thank goodness.  We drained off the dirty water after the fire went out.  This is the culmination of months and months of preparation.

Everything worked great!

Now, cross your fingers in hopes that today we'll get some sap to boil!

We're Working On The Lines

We've been cleaning up our maple lines and installing new lines in preparation for tapping the trees this next week.

We run high tensile wire down the line of maple trees and then attach our tubing to it.  

I use an automatic wire tying tool and wire ties to attach the tubing to the high tensile wire.  The wire ties are a piece of wire with loops on either end.  I wrap them around the tube and the high tensile wire, put the hook on the wire tying tool through the loops, and pull.  The end of the wire tying tool spins and twists the wire tight.  

Attaching the tubing well keeps the tubing from sagging and getting pockets of sap and it looks more tidy.  

I do this the whole length of the wire and tubing at about 18-inch intervals.

Our children and their friends have been helping us to clean up one of our other sugar bushes by finding trees that need to be cut off with a chain saw and clearing fallen branches.   

We'll get everything connected, tapped, and very soon begin getting sap!

NOW It Looks Like Maple Season

We've had such an unseasonably warm winter that there wasn't a bit of snow on the ground and it felt strange to be preparing for maple tapping.  This past weekend we had a bit of snow and very cold weather blow through and NOW it looks like maple season.  I'm happy that there's only a tiny amount of white stuff on the ground because in past years we've had to work through knee high snow.  Now, that's hard work!

The sap evaporator is almost ready, the reverse osmosis machine is almost ready, lots and lots of wood has been cut (although I think you can never cut enough), sap lines are being installed and cleaned up, and tapping (with the help of some friends) begins this weekend!   

Right now, I'm putting my camera batteries into the charger and will take lots and lots of photos!

Don't forget to hop over to Homestead Revival!

Reverse Osmosis

This unusual machine sitting in my den is a reverse osmosis machine in the process of being built.  It takes some of the water out of maple sap and makes the boiling time  in the evaporator much shorter.  When we ordered it, we were told that the maker was so backed up that he couldn't possibly have one ready for maple season (fast approaching!).  We bought the kit and now it is being assembled in my den - with the accompanying mess!  

Over the next few weeks and months, I promise, you will begin hearing more and more about maple season!  

Bee Success(ful)!

Today the weather warmed up enough that I could check on my bees and see if the queens got out of their little boxes.  I didn't get pictures because although the weather was "warm" - meaning slightly above 60-degrees, it was windy and threatening rain.  I wanted to get in and out of the hives as quickly as possible.

Success!

Six out of six hives have released their queens.  They are building tons of comb.  They all got to get outside and poop.  You can see the streaks on the sides of the hive.  Did you know that bees will not pooh in the hive?  They'll hold it for months during the winter while they wait for a day above 40 degrees so that they can go out.

I sat right up next to where the bees were buzzing in and out (we have their usual hive entrance reduced to about an inch wide) and watched them work for a few minutes to see if they were finding anything to eat.  They were bringing in loads and loads of pollen on their back leg pollen baskets!

Thank you to everyone who has planted flowers in town.  I hope you get to see lots of the bee ladies visiting your gardens and pollinating your vegetables!

In Maple News:  The holes on our maple trees have closed up and we have stopped getting sap.  This next week I'll be pulling all the taps out of the trees and flushing the lines.  This will help cut down on the amount of gunk in the lines next season.  I'm already looking forward to next year when we'll be boiling our own sap!

Potter-Tioga Maple Weekend

The Potter-Tioga Maple Weekend is this weekend, March 26th and 27th!

Every spring, the Potter-Tioga Maple Producers Association open up the doors to their sugar houses and invite the public to come in and see how maple syrup is made.  Some of the sugar houses have pancake breakfasts.  Some of the places will take you out to the sugar bush and show you how the trees are tapped.  Some will even show you how to tap trees the old fashioned way with a hand drill, a hammer, a bucket, spile, and lid.

This is definitely something you won't want to miss!

Here is the link to the Potter-Tioga Maple Producer's Association so that you can see a map to find the sugar houses and find their hours and what they are offering:

http://www.pamaple.com/

Snow's Last Gasp?

I had planned to do a blog on the mud and mess we're having, but this morning I woke up to "school cancelled" and this!

Maybe/hopefully this is Mother Nature's last gasp of winter before spring comes?  

We're having a roller coaster of a maple season.  One day there's perfect maple weather, the next day it's too warm - then the following day it's too cold.  We're in a balancing act between good maple weather (days above freezing and nights below freezing) and fearing that the trees will bud - which signals the end of the season!    

This weekend is the Potter/Tioga Maple Weekend, so hopefully the weather will cooperate!    

Something is killing my chickens.  I put out a live trap and last weekend we caught an opossum in it.  Then, we went away on a mini vacation this weekend (before the truly hard work sets in!) and came home to another dead chicken.  I was very angry about this because I could see the beautiful green eggs that it was going to lay inside it.  I set out the live trap again and caught a skunk.  What a stench that created!  

My Cup Runneth Over...

Well, my Cup may not be running over, but my 

Maple Sap Tanks sure were!

Before I got the hose on it, the sap was POURING onto the ground!

I didn't collect sap for two days because the weather was cool and there just wasn't that much.  I felt it just wasn't worth the time and gas expenditure.  Today, I substitute taught at the high school, and as I drove home I swung by to check the sap collection tank close to my home.  As I drove up, what did I see?  Precious liquid gold - maple sap - was pouring out the top of the tank onto the ground!  

I ran home as fast as I could, changed into my outside work clothes, jumped into the truck and rushed down to pump that precious sap!

An almost full to the top tank.

I had to make two trips to get all of the sap.  Along the way I had a few mishaps  - like overflowing the tank in the back of the truck and spilling some sap!  

When I got to the unloading point this is what I ended up with.

Yup, that sticker says 550 gallons!  That tank was tilted, but I figured I had about 525 gallons of sap at 2.1 percent sugar content!

The chickens love the longer days and have been coming on laying.  I've been collecting about a dozen eggs, more or less, each day.  I'll be putting my "eggs for sale" sign out!

A happy Pants On The Ground surrounded by his hens.

Sap!

THE SAP IS RUNNING!

After I got off work yesterday, I thought I would take a ride and look at my sap lines.  What a pleasant surprise!

In the top photo you can clearly see the sap running out of the lines.  Those icicles hanging off the tank are all maple sap.

  The bottom photo shows an area we tap that is very shady.  A lot of junk gets built up in the lines and all that green gunk you see has washed out.  That's why we run the lines a bit before we stick them into the tanks.  If you look at the bottom photo near the top center you can see the stream of maple sap.  

After I took these photos I stuck the lines into the tanks - we're collecting!  Now we just have to cross our fingers and hope Mother Nature does her part!

The worst that can happen (I can't believe I'm saying this) is that it gets too warm too fast.  We want below freezing nights and above freezing days.  

Maple Sap Weather for Wednesday -  6:30 a.m. temperature:  -3 degrees

4 p.m. temperature: 33-degrees.

Got Sap?

Maple Season Begins!

Yesterday we spent the whole day tapping maple trees.  The weather cooperated and we enjoyed lovely weather (for February)!

In the morning we worked in an area about 1/2 mile from our home that we've christened "The South Seven."  I tried to chronicle our morning in pictures.  Later in the day we moved to an area nearer to our home.

The tools:  We use a battery operated drill with a 5/16"-drill bit.  If you look closely you'll see some duct tape wrapped around the bit.  This acts as a guide to let us know how deep to drill into the tree.   The other tool we use is a rubber mallet to pound in the spiles.  

Our tubing lines run through the forest.  We've spent the past few years getting quite a spider web of these set up.  The sap from all the trees we tap runs down through these to a large tank at the bottom of the forest. 

Spiles hanging down waiting to be tapped into the trees. 

The very important workers:  (Heather and Petey opted to stay home and do dishes while we tapped this part of our lines).  They joined us later in the day.

The worker's helpers: Daisy and Candy Cane.  Petey can't come to this part of the forest because he tends to get bored and wander off - and there's a road with fast moving cars nearby. 

And the drilling begins.  Each hole must be drilled at a slightly downward angle so that gravity feeds the sap into the lines.   

John pounds in the spiles.  This is a delicate process!  There is a distinct sound the hammer makes as it hits the spile perfectly into place.  If you hit it again you'll split the tree and the sap will leak out around the tap rather than into the tap.  In later posts I hope to introduce you to the "Tap, Tap, Thunk" song.  

  

The spiles pounded into place.  We now wait for below freezing nights and above freezing days for the sap to "run".  In the bottom picture you'll find a perfect four year rotation of spile holes.  You don't want to girdle the tree by going in a line around it, so each year you follow a cross pattern.  This is our fourth year on this tree.  

Sometimes, as you drill the hole, the sap begins to run out of the tree.  You can just see a drop of sap dripping out of this tree.  

Whew!  The day warmed up and we started to shed layers!

We look for damage while we work.  In the top picture you can see a stick has fallen over a line.  The bottom picture shows squirrel damage.  They like to chew on the tubing - maybe they're bored, maybe they're tasting the sweet drops of sap left in the lines - nobody knows, but it's a pain in the neck to replace these sections!

I paint a maple tapping scene on old-fashioned maple buckets and I'll often use greens, grays, and other colors in my trees.  The palette found in nature is amazing!

I don't know who put this up in the middle of the woods, but this Old Man of the Forest (who, every year, makes me jump!) wishes us a happy tapping season. 

... and after yesterdays beautiful day, we woke up to this (there had been zero snow on the tables and deck):

Now, we watch the weather, the temperature, and the wind direction, and hope to find tanks brimming with maple sap!