Friday, March 18, 2011

Unsettled Spring Weather Brings On The Sap

We had an unexpected spring storm last night, with thunder and lightening in the early evening and then very high wind and rain through the middle of the night. The temperature stayed mild, and as a result, Dad was up into the wee hours of the morning making sure that the sap tank did not overflow. He said that it ran very well from midnight until 4am, and he boiled down the sap that he collected overnight first thing this morning. We will have to get out into the woods soon to check for branches that may have come down during the storm, and to make sure that all of the lines remain in good repair.

The sap has been running steadily over the past four days and we have made about a quarter of an average crop so far. Yesterday was the best day of the season to date as we made close to 100 gallons of syrup (that's 4000 gallons of sap collected!). We would consider that to be a good production day on average, however, we have definitely had larger runs, sometimes collecting 7000-8000 gallons of sap in one day! We have had some big temperature swings this week, but we're still waiting for the "perfect" sap day. -5°C to +5°C with crisp sunshine would be ideal.

If you are in the mood to do some more maple reading, check out this blog by Bruce Sherman. You'll find some great pictures that he took at our farm yesterday, as well as some thoughtful blog commentary from a true maple enthusiast. If you look closely, you'll also find a great painting that Bruce did of our farmhouse. Enjoy!

3 comments:

Bruce Sherman said...

Good Morning Carley!... What a great surprise... and pleasure to find the official McCutcheon Maple News Update!

It has been one of the true blessings of my life... to meet and befriend your Mom and Dad since I moved to the Oro-Medonte. Seeing their faces... and visiting your farm and bush... signals in my heart... the return of Spring!I always come away uplifted and full of hope... knowing that there are "significantly conservation-minded others"... still carrying the torch respectfully for Mother Earth!

Keep up the great work... I'll bookmark your wonderful site for my own future reading... and for for sure pass along your site to my readers!

Sweetwater Dreams!... and a Good run!
Warmest regards,
Bruce (Sherman)

Bruce Sherman said...

Hi again Carley!... Forgot to thank you for the acknowledgement! Also... I dove into the Maple Sugar archives... and discovered other "intersections".... Gordon Lighfoot... Pete Seeger... Moxy Fruvous... AY Jackson... and especially his "Scarlet Maples"...which I copied as a young 'un as well!

Looks as if today might be that red letter maple perfect day that all producers pray for! Let the good times... flow!

Have a great day!
Warm regards,
Bruce

Carley McCutcheon said...

Thanks, Bruce! We're hoping the sun will warm things up enough today for a good run too! Glad you enjoyed reading some of our blog, I certainly enjoyed looking through your great photographs and artwork, and reading your posts. Your love of all things maple is infectious (and much appreciated!).

Cheers,
Carley