The Official 2024 Maple Season Thread

Always getting ready for the next maple season. Working on getting the firewood all split and stacked.
Feeling old today
The one pic shows how small we split to get a fast and hot fire going to boil efficiently. Really prolongs how long this process takes. Luckily the splitter is pretty fast.

We have evolved greatly. Now I grapple the logs right to the spot they are needed..and process right into the wood shed. That alone saves so much time and effort.
The bigger logs go to our cabin..or my parents house . To split into bigger chunks for longer steady burns.
The smaller trees and tips work great here .

 

Looking good! I suppose now is a great time to get the fuel ready. I have about 3/4 face cord of aspen split small and set aside for 2024 so far. I took down a couple dozen small sugar maples and have a nice pile of skinnies to buck to length and split in half that I can add to the stash as well. I think I'm down to my last quart of syrup from this year Looking forward to another productive season of making more!

 

Sounds like you have a real great start !
People ask me all the time...when is maple season ? I say..."all year!"

 

If I can help myself to not working outside in the fall or winter rain and snow ! Then in crappy weather...ill do inside improvements and such.

 

Kids went back to school today so I got a jump on the fuel situation. These are mostly sugar maple poles I cut in the spring when I was thinning the woods. There are a couple Norway maple skinnies in there as well. The stack of quaking aspen shrank a couple inches since I put it there, so no doubt it’ll be ready to rip by February. I think between that and the maple, I should have it covered. Plenty of pine on hand if need be too.

 

Ready to rip! (Just have to sit tight for 6 months )

 

Perfect ! Nice job ! Good luck being patient lol

 

Finally got done with the tedious task of splitting and stacking these small splits !
Ready for season !
Even a little extra split normal for the woodstove .

 

I had the formed bricks, door, and baffled pan for a 55gal drum.

Got to use it once and don't remember what happened to it.

There was a lot of that happening when I had to sell everything and split it.

Maybe again, it was fun and rewarding. My girls loved to help, and I'd be willing to bet they still would be even being in their 20's now.

 

Are you kidding me, maple syrup season starts in 2 weeks here?!?!
What's the earliest anyone has tapped trees?

 

My neighbor just brought it a big azz prebuilt building to use as a sugar shack. Says he is going to use wood to make his syrup this year. I haven’t seen but a couple little piles of firewood. I think he is in for a surprise…

 

Last year was my earliest , Feb 10th here in mid Mich . Normally around the 20th is tapping time . I’m not jumping the gun yet , still have lots of winter left and need those days to get longer for good sap runs .

 

I went back into last year's thread and February 5th was when I started tapping the trees, which worked out for me in that instance. I'll get my "equipment" ready but wait patiently to see what February brings.

 

I’ve been busy in the woods getting vac lines fixed and adding more taps . Still nowhere near ready but this warm snap will make it easier work .

 

We've been tapping (tubing) since just before Christmas. First evaporator run (sweetening the pans) will be today. We had a sap run a few weeks ago, but it froze into a block of ice, and couldn't be hauled. We had a good run Sunday, but we weren't ready at the plant, so we left it in the woods until yesterday. The RO finished stripping off a good portion of water over night. It is going to be so-so quality and likely go to a commercial customer as sweetener, but I've been surprised before by the end product coming out of the finishing pan.

Let the season begin!

 

Waiting on some cooler weather here. Hope it comes soon!

 

Looks like we’ll have decent weather for the next 7 or so days, so I got 4 taps in just now. 2 sugar maples (pictured) and 2 reds. I’m going to put at least 2 more taps in this weekend, most likely in a very large sugar maple nearby that was a huge producer last year.

 

My goal is to usually be ready to go by the end of February, each year that seems to be too late.

Someone down the road got 800 gallons off 550 taps on Wednesday (but he is a liar).

I am heading out to the farm to tap and fix lines tomorrow. Dad is trying to have everything else ready (pump house, vacuum, tanks clean) when I get out there

 

Shouldn't be thinking about tapping here for another month and a half... This forecast is STUPID..

 

We were tapped ..last season...on Feb 1st. And we stayed very busy !
Almost went for it a couple days ago here in Northeast , Ohio....bit gonna wait alil longer.
If you can believe these long term forecasts....March looks better at this point.
We are ready to go whenever it's time.
Being on sap sacks.....we only get 4 weeks before taps slow down significantly. So I try to keep that in mind before I drill .