Back in action.....

Sorry for the delay since our last entry, but nothing's been happening except cold...too cold for the trees to run. Starting tomorrow (Friday) there looks to be a 14-day streak of PERFECT maple weather. 40+ during the day, but freezing at night. Today is questionalbe if they'll run, might be a little cool. The Shak should be in action Friday, Saturday, Sunday evenings this weekend....and beyond! Hurray!

Cool Temps = Break in the Action

The forecasted cool temps through the weekend means there'll be no sap to collect and no action at the Shak through the weekend. We drained the pan this morning to prepare for a low tonight near 0. We'll start-up again mid next week.

Cooking debut

Today will be our first significant day of collecting sap, so our first full cook will be this evening. I don't think the trees liked the chilly wind yesterday.  We had a smaller version of cooking last night (front pan only), and everything/everybody seems to be ready for the real thing!  The upcoming week's forecast looks favorable for good 'sappin!'

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!

Thanks for loving our syrup!

We are officially SOLD OUT of product for the year.  We thank our syrup-loving customers and hope to see you back next year.  We typically have our new season's syrup in bottles ready-for-sale by May 1.

Syrup is running low......

We will be at the Monticello Farmers Market on Thursday, 9/15, 3:30-6:30 and tentatively on 9/22 (pending supply).
We will be at the Buffalo Farmers Market on Saturday, 9/17 8-Noon and tentatively on 9/24 (pending supply).
We will be at the Maple Grove Farmers Market on Thursday, 9/15, 3-7 and Thursday, October 6, 3-6  and tentatively October 20 (pending supply).
Thanks for your patronage at our markets this Summer!