Tapping Time

It has been another funny winter, weather-wise.  Some really warm spells, some really cold spells, some heavy snows, some heavy rains.  Sometimes all within a two week time period.  I noticed the weight limit signs go up on the rural roads--indicating the frost laws are in effect--about the second weekend of February, which is a good two weeks earlier than normal.  Given that, which is kind of like saying "Yeah, we're pretty much done with winter and the ground's not going to be frozen from here on out", I probably could have tapped trees a week or maybe even two weeks ago.

But I didn't.  I waited until yesterday to set my taps.  Partly because there have been so many other things going on.  Partly because I am just not mentally ready to commit to scheduling in twice daily trips to the woods to check my taps and collect sap, not to mention at least one very long day a week to boil that sap down into syrup.  Maybe I kind of wanted to wait until after DD1's bridal shower this coming weekend. 

However, all indicators--the size of the maple buds all ready!, the numerous species of migratory birds suddenly here, the long range weather forecast--are telling me that the sap run might not last into April this year, so I better get those taps set and get the syrup harvest going.  Not to mention the fact that I have exactly ONE pint of syrup left from previous years of syrup making. There's no time to waste!  Taps must be set! We cannot miss out on syrup season this year or we'll have to buy syrup--which is not cheap--or go back to using that fake syrup yuck from the grocery store (uh, no. Not doing that).

So, after church yesterday, DH and I went out to the woods.  I set 10 taps, and he cut up downed trees with his chainsaw near our little pseudo sugar bush.  Then I spent about an hour helping to stack that cut wood into piles that could be easily accessed by a tractor pulling our wood hauler trailer.

Can't get the spile in fast enough!

Sap was definitely running hard yesterday.  In that hour or so that we stacked wood, a few taps had all ready put out nearly a gallon of sap each. I'm not ready for that!  I had to hurriedly find a few of our food grade 5-gallon buckets with lids so that we could empty the full sap jugs (because again this year I am using saved gallon milk jugs; purchasing real metal sap buckets or a number of 5-gallon buckets and plastic tubing and the size of spiles for that tubing, just isn't in the cards this season). We went out to the woods again after dinner and emptied more of the jugs, tallying about 7 gallons of sap in a 5 hour time period from those 10 taps.

Filling fast.

(I use baling twine to tie my jugs to the tree so they don't blow off in spring winds)

Somehow I am going to have to find the time to collect and boil sap this week, while also getting the house ready for the upcoming bridal shower.  Time to kick it into Homesteading Wonder Woman mode.

Sugar bush