We put the sap buckets out last Sunday because the weather forecast a week of weather which should have been great for sap production. Unfortunately, it was colder and wetter than forecast, so we didn't have as much sap for the first boil, as we normally would like. We generally get 10, 5 gallon or 23 l buckets for the first boil. We only had 6 and a bit. Friday was wet and miserable, so the pans didn't get on the fire until Saturday. The nice thing was that the weekend weather was pretty nice, and Sunday was spectacularly nice, all sunny and warm.
The only other time that we didn't have a full amount of sap, left us with a small bit in the pan, which came to temperature so quickly, that it burnt before I got it off the stove. However, this time, Al brought it up close to 219 outside, so it wasn't a hardship for me to finish it off. However, it got a bit hotter, so the syrup is quite lovely and thick this year. We only got 2 litres from our first boil, so I don't think we'll come close to last year's syrup quantities.
Photo of Keven, in a sun spot, pretending to be a nice and cute kitty - He might be cute, but none of us think he is remotely nice.
The only other time that we didn't have a full amount of sap, left us with a small bit in the pan, which came to temperature so quickly, that it burnt before I got it off the stove. However, this time, Al brought it up close to 219 outside, so it wasn't a hardship for me to finish it off. However, it got a bit hotter, so the syrup is quite lovely and thick this year. We only got 2 litres from our first boil, so I don't think we'll come close to last year's syrup quantities. 
Surely Kevin must be nice when he's asleep. :)
ReplyDeleteI always envy those of you who get to make your own maple syrup.