We've pushed the 'go' button

We've officially started our 2017 maple season tapping half of our trees today! We'll hopefully finish-up tomorrow. We also did some prep work over the weekend at the Shak: cleared a lot of fallen brush/trees from last July's storm, cut pallets to fuel the stove, and made sure the electronics that run the auto-draw system are working. Tonight the 'gang' will be rinsing the holding tanks for collected sap and the tanks that mount to the 4-wheelers in the woods. Getting close!

When to Tap the Trees?

This season is starting-off with some 'quirky' temps forecasted the next few days for how early we are in the year. We've opted to 'wait it out' and 'not tap yet.'  We may miss a few days of activity by waiting, but we're waiting for two reasons: 1) if you tap too early, the end result can be a shorter season because the trees may heal-up before the season is finished and 2) if we tap now and begin cooking, it looks like a cold spell is right around the corner which means we'd have to drain the pan to avoid damage by a hard freeze.  So.....stay tuned!