Sugar shack

[duane]

Hangin w the crew yesterday, tappin trees, hangin bags, and just toolin around the woods at Hoover Hacienda.


Thanks for a great day, and the grub really hit the spot!

[hoover]

glad you were able to come out!

[EricR]

Last year, dad didn't do any sugaring as it got too warm too fast and the sap was dark. This year, there is so much snow he won't be able to get out in the woods. Keep in mind he is 83 and uses his tractor. He does not have the physical agility to use a snowmobile anymore, so when the snow is deep he is on foot pulling a sled.

Any other pics of your setup James?  We used PVC spiles with five gallon buckets hung.

[72Suzuki]

We tapped on Tuesday, and have only had to gather once.  Picked up 200 gallons on Friday.  Hopefully this weather will change so we can get a good run. 

[69 MOD]

I bet they're running today!!

[Trusty Johnson]

   At Hoovers we have 135 taps out right now. 15 more to do when the time is right.
  Have not collected yet, I think there is only 40 gals or so out there.

   Collecting it on thursday.  Having a breakfast on sat., if you live close enough
  to Taylors Falls tocome over.


   Trusty 

[72Suzuki]

We have between 350-375 taps out right now.  We use the blue spiles with tubing and 5 gallon buckets sitting on the ground. 3 spiles per tree.  So far we have gathered 625 gallons.   The sugar content here in mid Michigan has been decent. We need a good rain and a warm day to suck some frost out of the ground to get this stuff flowing better. 

[Stickandtin]

Reading this thread brought back a lot of fond memories. As a kid, I lived in western NY state. Grandad was a dairy farmer near Allegany. He used to take me out to tap the sugar maples and collect sap. That was back in the '60s. Used a brace and bit to tap and had galvanized steel spigots(that's what he called them), the spigot had a little hook on the bottom and we would hang a galvanized bucket on it to catch the sap. We also had a galvanized cover that slid onto each bucket to keep trash/water out. When it was time to collect sap, he had a big tank mounted on a
sled he pulled with an old Allis Chalmers WD45.

Boy nothing smells better than sap boiling down over a hardwood fire. One of my special treats was to grab up some snow and eat it with some of the syrup drizzled over it. Thanks for bringing back some great old memories.

[duane]

Reading this thread brought back a lot of fond memories. As a kid, I lived in western NY state. Grandad was a dairy farmer near Allegany. He used to take me out to tap the sugar maples and collect sap. That was back in the '60s. Used a brace and bit to tap and had galvanized steel spigots(that's what he called them), the spigot had a little hook on the bottom and we would hang a galvanized bucket on it to catch the sap. We also had a galvanized cover that slid onto each bucket to keep trash/water out. When it was time to collect sap, he had a big tank mounted on a
sled he pulled with an old Allis Chalmers WD45.

Boy nothing smells better than sap boiling down over a hardwood fire. One of my special treats was to grab up some snow and eat it with some of the syrup drizzled over it. Thanks for bringing back some great old memories.

You're welcome Laura Ingalls,