Filed under: February 2022 | Tags: maple syrup, maple syrup season, Small Farming, Suffolk Horses
February 28, 2022
We tapped the trees last Saturday. Now we wait for the first run of sap. This has been a crazy spring so we expect a roller coaster of a season. We need the freeze and thaw weather to make the sap run, but we need it to do both! Lately we get very cold weather and no warm or a day or two of warm with no cold. Time will tell how our season turns out, but it looks good for this coming week.
Abby and Amee did an awesome job pulling the sled while we tapped. A four wheeler or tractor would not have worked too well for us this year. The four wheeler would have gotten stuck in the mud and ice or perhaps even in the deep snow. A tractor would have made some awful ruts in places. The horses were steady and traversed the sap roads with ease.
I did take a tie rope along and even tied it to small trees when we stopped. They stayed standing and never tightened the rope. Often I was a hundred yards away or more. They couldn’t see us at times, but they waited patiently for us to return and move them and the sled to a new area. I am very pleased with them and their work ethic. They are indeed my partners.
Now, we wait for the sap to run and fill the plastic bags. We will gather the sweet liquid and take it to the sugarhouse to be boiled. Everything is almost ready and what isn’t, soon will be. Our sweet reward for the hard work will soon flow…and very soon flow over some hot pancakes! Here we go! Thanks to my grandparents and parents for teaching and sharing this love for the maple woods!
Filed under: February 2022 | Tags: Fabrication, farmer's budget, frugal, maple syrup, maple syrup season, sap tank
February 21, 2022
It is time to make maple syrup! We get excited every year for this season. There is one heck of a lot of work to do before the liquid gold is poured on pancakes, but this labor of love makes me smile every year. This year we frugally upgraded our maple sap gathering tank. Our old tank was galvanized and had begun to show the wear of many years of use. We bought the tank used ourselves and decided it was time to upgrade to stainless steel.
We looked into just buying a tank specialized just for this purpose. In fact last year at the close of our maple season, we ordered one. The manufacturer contacted me in late December to inform us that the rising cost of “everything” had caused them to have to more than double the cost of the tank. The new tank would have cost $3500.00 dollars! We cancelled our order. However, we still wanted to replace our old tank.
In the fencerow at a friends farm, I spied this old, small bulk tank. We made an agreement and I bought the tank for the cost of scrap. My buddy, who is a fabricator and welder, helped me rework the old tank. We welded the lids all in place. We cut a hole in the top panel to allow for this stainless steel drum. We drilled holes in the drum to act as a strainer and fill port for the tank. The barrel sits on four legs in the bottom of the tank making it removable.
The legs that the barrel sits on also hold a baffle on each side of the drum. This baffle is welded in the middle section of the tank and will hopefully prevent the slosh that comes with a big wave. The tank attaches to the sap sled/cart with a ratchet strap. A couple blocks give it more stability. It is possible that I will have to silicone caulk the top seams, but time will tell.
This project, the tank, the fabrication and welding cost me $250.00 and a dozen donuts. Sure, I have some time and some gasoline for automobile trips, but I am happy with this new rig. It accomplished our goal of switching to easy to clean and sanitize stainless steel on a farmer’s budget!
Our excitement continues as we set the maple syrup pans, clean everything in sight, tap the trees and complete other various tasks that must be done before we receive our sweet reward. Stay tuned, we will be sticky very soon!
Filed under: February 2022 | Tags: Small Farming, Suffolk fillies, Suffolk Horses, winter
February 3, 2022
The groundhog says six more weeks of winter. I don’t really mind. The sunny day we had a couple days ago, makes winter very nice. Grace, (looking at the camera) and her buddy Bree, enjoyed a fun day of romping in the sunshine.
We always say a farmer should have half his wood and half his hay on groundhog day. I am pleased to report that we do! Winter finally came to us in January. It came in full force. We got a big snowstorm dropping over two feet of snow on us after a very cold couple of weeks prior to that. The cold froze the ground for the first time in a few years. Oh how we love “God’s concrete”.
Bree, (now looking at the camera), will soon start her harness training. She will turn two in April. These little girls both have April birthdays, turning one and two respectively. Grace is still being taught the little things like, leading, trailer loading, feet handling and strange noises. She does very well. Bree has a little bit of her momma’s attitude, but yields easily with consistent, patient training methods.
We look towards the calendar and the weather as our maple season looms. Each day we get a little closer to being ready. Today, we are patiently waiting out a winter storm. We are plowing snow and tending the stock. I am also working on a few writing projects. It is all good here, after all we have six more weeks of winter!
RicelandMeadows 