The sap ran for the first time last week on Thursday and Friday and we are optimistic that we might have a decent season.  The weather wasn't perfect for sap flow; Friday was overcast and windy, but we still collected about half of a gallon per tap.  We are hoping that this means that the trees have plenty of access to moisture in the soil, allowing for strong early flows.  The past two seasons have been very dry in the fall, giving us weak early season runs.  

The weather forecast for the next 10 days looks promising.  We are hoping to have our first syrup real soon!

This past week's snowstorm blanketed the sugarbush with a little insurance that the season is going to continue for a while.  Providing us with two benefits, moisture and a slowing spring warm up, the snow brought smiles to our faces.  Yes, I think that maple syrup producers are probably the only people who appreciated a late April snow storm.  The sap flow continues to be pretty good.  We haven't had any really big runs, but we have been able to collect some sap everyday.  Our total production is up to 260 gallons, or 0.26 gallons per tap.  This is at the level that we can consider it a successful season, but still far short of our record in 2011 of 0.56 gallons per tap.  For comparison's sake, last year we made 0.06 gallons per tap--terrible!  Most of the syrup this year has been light amber, due mostly to the cold temperatures.

 We will be boiling today and processing over 2000 gallons of sap.

The prolonged winter weather has helped the maple syrup season.  It seems like the slow warmup has allowed the surface moisture to finally seep into the ground so that the trees have access to moisture.  We have had strong flows this past week and are anticipating continued good weather (perspective is relative) for sap flow this week.  We have bottled up some of our first batches of syrup and will make maple cream this week.  On Sunday the 14th, we made 35 gallons of light amber syrup that tasted great and has the proper sugar profile to make maple cream.  If you haven't tried the maple cream before, it is a real treat that has the flavor of maple syrup and the consistency of smooth peanut butter.  Despite its name, it is a pure maple product.  Nothing is added exact raw sap.  The only difference between syrup and cream is that the cream is boiled longer and to a higher temperature that causes the sugars to precipitate out of solution.  It really is tasty and worth a try!  It will be listed for sale on the website as soon as it is ready.

 You may continue to place orders online with Google Checkout.  However, if you prefer to send a check, just take a look at the website, decide what products you want to order and email us at dsomers@citlink.net