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Diary - 2004 Sugaring Season April 5 - April 7 Okay, who ordered the snow on Monday? Looks like a good stretch coming with the right conditions for getting sap. Good run on the 7th, at last. Sap quality is starting to suffer but grade and more importantly, taste, is very good. Buds are starting to swell on the trees. I'd guess we will be done in a week or so. It's been three weeks since I took a header off the roof. Ribs still sore but getting better. Ego, well that is probably damaged beyond repair. March 30 - April 4 One weak run and then back in to the freezer again. This year has been exceptional in that the weather has either gotten warm and stayed warm or gone cold and stayed cold. We need to have warm days and cold nights. March 27 - 29 Sunday the 28th was Maine Maple Sunday. A lot of fun to see some folks that you only see once a year. Visiting sugarhouses is a great way to get out of the house after a long winter. Picked up one medium run and will boil on the 30th. March 19 - 26 Cold most of this stretch. We did get one good run and one weak one. Last year was brutally cold. Most folks around here thought this year was warmer but one certainly can't tell that from the weather in March. March 15 - 18 Okay, I'm really stupid. I went to boil on Monday, had to get the cap off the stovepipe on the roof, slipped and fell off the roof. Nothing broken, but very sore and can't lift much. Good thing the sap hasn't run this week. We are in the middle of unseasonably cold temperatures. March 8 - 13 A little more luck this week. A good run and a small one. Seems this year I've fallen behind. Got two new storage tanks in the Woods, at the last minute. Had trouble with the oil burner in the evaporator. I can't figure it out so it's time to call in someone who is a professional. Picked up the last parts to the new pre-heater that I am building for the rear pan on Wednesday. Hope to do some assembly this weekend. Good news, the burner is fixed and the pre-heater is in. A pre-heater helps somewhat to increase the number of gallons that one can boil per hour but its' primary benefit is that it is a source of hot, distilled water. There is no running water in our little sugarhouse so having a source of water is terrific. March 1 - 7 Had one decent run this last week and boiled it off on Thursday. The weather has been warm in the day and warm at night. Not the right conditions for good sap flow. We'll see what this week brings. Had a lot to do in the sugarhouse this year. Had the front steam hood reworked to add a larger stack and had to get that new stack to the vent. I'm enclosing the vent this year to warm things up a bit inside. Lot of tweaks to the arch and burner to coax a little more out of it. February 28 - 29 Who could resist the temptation to tap on Leap Day!! Got everything tapped and waiting for the weather. February 9 - 27 As usual we try to get our gear back in the Woods and or repair what is there. This year we had two new pans made for the evaporator, the old ones just gave out. Very nice. They were made by Bill Mason, Porter, ME. Seems that the squirrels and chipmunks liked our tubing especially well this year. February 1 - 8 Still cold and nasty with very little snow. Hope to be in the Woods next weekend to repair some lines that I didn't get to last Fall. January Cold and no snow for January this year; got two new front pans being made. |
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Home || Store || Favors || Diary || Maple Info. || Off Line Ordering || Store Map 144 Heal Road, Lincolnville, ME 04849 * Tel. 207-763-3150 * Fax: 207-763-3037 Email: thecook@healssugarhouse.com
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