March 20

WEATHER: Balmy this morning, chilly this evening. A northwest wind set in and suggested a change of weather. Moody skies. SAP STATUS: No sap in the tanks.

BOILING STATUS: No boiling. Will we boil again?  No one knows. One neighbor said years ago, "Sugar season isn't over until the fat lady sings." We haven't heard her yet.

SEVEN DAY NITER PRIMER, Saturday.  Larger sugaring operations filter syrup by pumping it through a filter press. First they stir diatomaceous earth into the hot syrup. DE is a white powder of one-celled organisms deposited on ancient ocean floors. It does not dissolve in the syrup but forms a suspension. The DE sticks to paper filters lining a whole rack of square metal waffles and spacers. As the syrup passes through, the DE absorbs the niter. When the filter press is full, the crew takes it apart, replacing the paper filters and dumping the waffle-like cakes of mocha residue in a bucket. Lots of light syrup can be run through the filter press before it must be cleaned, not so with the dark syrup and its slimy niter.

MACRO: Nebraska Valley kids, two boys and a girl, cooking sugar-on-snow on the picnic table in front of the sugarhouse.

MICRO: The sixth-grader spooning bubbly syrup on a bowl of snow to test it.

The high school sophomore smiling as she cuts up pickles.

The third grader rolling up sugar-on-snow on his fork for the fifty-ninth time.

March 18

The adrenaline has worn off; we are living on vapor, waiting for a second wind, then a third and a fourth. I intended to write this entry last night after the boil, but at 2:30 am it was too much. And this is my second attempt to write yesterday's entry because I was kicked offline by the dial-up connection we in Nebraska Valley must endure, and the draft disappeared. What with all the fatigue and commotion I am quick to forget the ongoing miracle of the sap, the trees and the sun.

WEATHER: Very poor sugaring weather, low's in the mid-thirties, high near 60. It feels like May.

SAP STATUS: Still running, but it resembles milky whey.

SYRUP STATUS: Dropped to Grade A Dark Amber. Gallon count nearly 2300. We speculate on whether or not the season is crashing or if we will get a shot of cold weather in time. People ask, "Is it a good sugar season?" We won't know til it's over.

CORRECTION: Some of you may have noted that Penn Station is not on K6 but at the top of K7.

THE HILLBILLIES: From L: "These two trees are not far from Penn Station but down in the city you'd never know they existed. They are at the top of a steep wanderlust line that goes through nothing for a ways. Then you see them, healthy but scraggly, dancing away at the top of the knoll, all moonshined up."

SEVEN DAY NITER PRIMER: Thursday. Backyard sugarmakers, tapping just a few trees, may filter out the niter with cheesecloth draped over a colander. A more sophisticated apparatus is the filter tank. This tank is a high, rectangular metal box.Inside, three thick felt cones hang from a frame like upside-down dunce caps. You take paper filters, like coffee filters but in the shape of the dunce caps, and fasten them to the felt cones with clothes pins. Then you pour the hot pail of syrup into the cone and close the lid. You can hear the syrup dripping onto the bottom of the tank.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:  "In thirty-five years I've never seen a sugar season like this one."

MUSIC TO BOIL BY: Ladysmith Black Mambazo

March 17

WEATHER: A decent freezing night last night, getting down to 26 for seven or eight hours. Today was the mildest yet, in the low 50's and sunny. Good run. MORNING CRISIS: Blew a hose trying to start up the RO before the line to the permeate tank thawed out. Down at the hardware store impatiently buying five feet of new hose, I told the owner it was a sugaring crisis and he said that's all he's been dealing with these days.

KEYSTONE, continued. The tubing here is state-of-the-art. Eight main lines run vertically up from the big main like tree trunks, and the skinny tap lines run into them like branches. Each tap line has only five to eight taps. The terrain dictates the layout: in a gentle bowl at the top of K6, many many tap lines converge at Penn Station.

SEVEN DAY NITER PRIMER, Wednesday. Technically, niter is malate of lime. It is not toxic but it could give you the runs. Some people prefer their syrup with the niter in it. They'll catch the syrup in their cups as it is pouring off the evaporator and drink it straight up.

DRIVEWAY MACRO: Mud or mud-covered ice bordered by receding snowbanks, tall pines or brooks.

DRIVEWAY MICRO: All you hear is water flowing: spring runoff. All you feel is cold air emanating from the brooks.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "What is the other mistake I keep making? My mind is in such a fog I can't think of it."

March 16

WEATHER: Below freezing (27) for four hours last night, high today in high 40's. SAP STATUS: This warm weather sap is no longer as clear as a glacial lake.

SYRUP STATUS: As a result, the grade has dropped. Today we made borderline A Medium Amber/A Dark Amber syrup.  Passed the 2000 gallon mark today.

TOUR OF THE SUGARBUSH, continued: Starting back at the sugarhouse we'll hike up to Keystone, the parcel of state-owned land we are tapping for the first time. This parcel fits between Morningside and the MainMain like a keystone, or like the space between the two arms of the letter V.

Keystone Main Line follows Herbie's Highway, named after Herbie Leach who hauled logs out on this logging road in the 70's and early 80's. It ascends steeply at first, then moderates where it cuts close to Falls Brook. Just before  the Falls Brook crossing, we will leave Herbie's Highway and follow the mainline up another logging road. The entire south and south-east flank of mountainside to our right is Keystone. The woods feel spacious and welcoming to hikers and snowshoers. There are many beautiful maples. Presiding over the higher, rougher terrain is The Old Foreman.

SEVEN DAY NITER PRIMER, Tuesday. The quality of the niter indicates how far along sugar season has progressed. During those early runs there is little niter, you don't see it except as it sticks to the pans. If a sugarmaker dips her scoop into the trough and what comes up is half syrup and half sugar sand, she knows early season is over. She is happy to see the coarse, gritty sugar sand since it means the season is here to stay for awhile. And heavy, sandy niter filters well.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: " M says to tell you she's bringing dinner up."

March 13

WEATHER: 30's by night, low 40's by day. Sap keep running, less during the night, a bit better during the day. CONVERGENCE OF CRISES, early evening:

1) Filter tank (where the finished syrup is)  is full to the top, needing simultaneously to be tested for density and run into a drum (barrel).

2) Evaporator door sticks - it won't open or close.

3) None of the drums are clean and ready to be filled.

L. starts rinsing out a drum wiht hot water, then leaves it to grease the sticky door. Tells A. to take care of the drum. A. thinks this means she should fill it. Meanwhile the sap roars in the pans, the fire roars in the arch.

4) Syrup gushes out through an opening half way up the side of the drum. The bung never got screwed back in.

5) Flood of syrup on floor.

6) Filter press needs to be changed right away, pressure is too high. This chore requires the full attention of one person for at least ten minutes.

7) Outside, a big tank full of permeate water ( water squeezed out of the sap by the reverse osmosis machine) overflows and gushes over the bank, undermining the stone wall and depositing muddy silt at the entrance to the sugarhouse.

Meanwhile, the sap roars and boils into syrup, the fire needs stoking.

8) Turns out there was still water in the drum with no bung, so since the syrup still in there is diluted it must be drained out.

In walks a neighbor and her eight-year old son for a visit. They are sugarhouse rats and pitch right in cleaning up and stacking wood.

March 11

WEATHER: Low last night 25, high today low 40's, overcast. So far, no freezing days during March - unheard of. The sap ran well midday, then slowed down. BOILING STATUS: Day 10

SYRUP STATUS: ca. 1500 gallons by the end of tonight's boil, all Fancy

A TOUR OF THE SUGARBUSH, continued: From Dome Road you turn left and walk below the porcupine cliff to pick up MARESAN Main Line. Maresan is named for our neighbors from the late 1970's, Mary and Suzanne, whose homes were tucked under the steep side of our knoll. We used to run lines into a tank at each of their houses and pick up the sap daily with our 1964 International truck, Old Blue.

The MARESAN soils are deeper than in other areas, and the trees really thrive here. Notice the Palace Guard, a grand old tree near the top.

DRAWING OFF SYRUP: Every sugarmaker has his or her own method. We finish off the syrup in the front pan. By reading the bubbles and testing the density with a hydrometer we know when to draw it off into a pail. Each pail of hot syrup must be standardized to make sure the density is exactly right. A perfect draw is a pail that is just right without any fiddling. Like a hole-in-one on the golf course, it is worth bragging about, even though luck plays a part.

SUGARHOUSE FOOD: California navel oranges to cut the sweet that saturates our pores.

March 7

WEATHER: Froze again last night, quickly warmed up this morning, high 43 and sunny. Sap could run several more hours, since at 10 pm it is still above freezing, 36 degrees.  THINGS THE GUYS CARRY IN THEIR PACKS TO CHECK LINES: Old-style drillbit for tapping missed trees Hammer for pounding in the spout Sheetrock knife Japanese folding saw for clearing small blowdowns Pruners Orange tape Masking tape, good substitute for a bandaid Extra tubing Extra caps, tees, splicers A contraption called the third hand The red fitting tool Water bottle and food   MACRO: Woods full of strong tree-shadows on snow.               Air around sugarhouse saturated with maple fragrance.

March 6

WEATHER: Low last night 17, high today 40, bluebird. The sort of early March day when those locals who haven't yet thought about sugaring feel the warmth of the sun on one side of the face and the nip of a cool breeze on the other and mutter to themselves, "I'll bet the sap is running today."  QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The sap is so clear it shines."   BOILING STATUS: Boiled down that shiny sap into Ultra Fancy syrup, a whole grade lighter than Fancy. Not just the color changes, but the nature of the bubbles in the pan too. It's disconcerting how they don't pucker and pop like ordinary Fancy bubbles, until you realize, that's right, ultra is always tricky to read.   MACRO: Sugarhouse built into the side of a hill.   MICRO: Scrape of metal on metal: the iron rake pulling cold ashes over the heavy grates.             MUSIC TO BOIL BY: Hank Williams honky-tonk

March 5

Weather: Low last night 19, high today 36, bluebird. Sap ran from 11 am to 5 pm.Boiling Status: Fourth day of boiling today, boiled sap from yesterday and today. Caught up on sap for first time. Syrup Status: Up to 750 gallons, all Fancy, Coty Classic. Remarks: The niter is what we filter out of the syrup. It is also called sugar sand; it is not always sandy but today we could scoop up abundant amounts of light golden sugar sand that had settled in the syrup troughs. To us it indicates a shift from early season, when there isn’t much niter at all, to middle season.

March 4

Weather: Low last night: 30 degrees. High today 35. Northwest wind. Mostly sunny. Sap ran, no boiling. Morning crisis: Flood of sap in the pump room. Noone shut the door at 5 am when yesterday’s boil ended, so the string that triggers the release tank to release froze up, and the sap didn’t have anywhere to go.

Quote of the Day: “There is so much to be thinking of all at the same time, my mind is putty.”

Snow Quality: corn snow.

Macro: Blue skies at last.

Micro: The guys heading up into the bush on snowshoes to check lines, wearing sunglasses.

Preface

PREFACE: We started tapping out our sugarbush on February 16th and finished by moonlight on the 25th. That’s the day the sap started to run. Sugaring is like back-to-back marathons, and this year we got no time to warm up before the race.

This is the year of the new: new taps on state land, new-fangled taps, new sap shed, new sap tanks, new vacuum pump, new reverse osmosis machine. I feel like a spectator gaping at the latter two. But Lew isn’t gaping, he’s tackling one crisis after another. New sugaring equipment doesn’t come with operating instructions. But then again, sugarmakers are inherently an independent, resourceful bunch, darn good at figuring things out.

So the weather has been good for early season – only

about 30 at night and mid-30’s by day. Sugaring is an exercise in giving up control, starting with the weather.

Above all, sugaring is a privilege.

TOTAL BLOG ENTRIES

PREFACE: We started tapping out our sugarbush on February 16th and finished by moonlight on the 25th. That’s the day the sap started to run. Sugaring is like back-to-back marathons, and this year we got no time to warm up before the race.

This is the year of the new: new taps on state land, new-fangled taps, new sap shed, new sap tanks, new vacuum pump, new reverse osmosis machine. I feel like a spectator gaping at the latter two. But Lew isn’t gaping, he’s tackling one crisis after another. New sugaring equipment doesn’t come with operating instructions. But then again, sugarmakers are inherently an independent, resourceful bunch, darn good at figuring things out.

So the weather has been good for early season – only

about 30 at night and mid-30’s by day. Sugaring is an exercise in giving up control, starting with the weather.

Above all, sugaring is a privilege.

MARCH 4

Weather: Low last night: 30 degrees. High today 35. Northwest wind. Mostly sunny. Sap ran, no boiling.

Morning crisis: Flood of sap in the pump room. Noone shut the door at 5 am when yesterday’s boil ended, so the string that triggers the release tank to release froze up, and the sap didn’t have anywhere to go.

Quote of the Day: “There is so much to be thinking of all at the same time, my mind is putty.”

Snow Quality: corn snow.

Macro: Blue skies at last.

Micro: The guys heading up into the bush on snowshoes to check lines, wearing sunglasses.

 March 5:

Weather: Low last night 19, high today 36, bluebird. Sap ran from 11 am to 5 pm. Boiling Status: Fourth day of boiling today, boiled sap from yesterday and today. Caught up on sap for first time. Syrup Status: Up to 750 gallons, all Fancy, Coty Classic. Remarks: The niter is what we filter out of the syrup. It is also called sugar sand; it is not always sandy but today we could scoop up abundant amounts of light golden sugar sand that had settled in the syrup troughs. To us it indicates a shift from early season, when there isn’t much niter at all, to middle season.

MARCH 6:   WEATHER: Low last night 17, high today 40, bluebird. The sort of early March day when those locals who haven’t yet thought about sugaring feel the warmth of the sun on one side of the face and the nip of a cool breeze on the other and mutter to themselves, “I’ll bet the sap is running today.”   QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The sap is so clear it shines.”   BOILING STATUS: Boiled down that shiny sap into Ultra Fancy syrup, a whole grade lighter than Fancy. Not just the color changes, but the nature of the bubbles in the pan too. It’s disconcerting how they don’t pucker and pop like ordinary Fancy bubbles, until you realize, that’s right, ultra is always tricky to read.   MACRO: Sugarhouse built into the side of a hill.   MICRO: Scrape of metal on metal: the iron rake pulling cold ashes over the heavy grates.             MUSIC TO BOIL BY: Hank Williams honky-tonk

MARCH 7   WEATHER: Froze again last night, quickly warmed up this morning, high 43 and sunny. Sap could run several more hours, since at 10 pm it is still above freezing, 36 degrees.   THINGS THE GUYS CARRY IN THEIR PACKS TO CHECK LINES: Old-style drillbit for tapping missed trees Hammer for pounding in the spout Sheetrock knife Japanese folding saw for clearing small blowdowns Pruners Orange tape Masking tape, good substitute for a bandaid Extra tubing Extra caps, tees, splicers A contraption called the third hand The red fitting tool Water bottle and food   MACRO: Woods full of strong tree-shadows on snow.               Air around sugarhouse saturated with maple fragrance.

MARCH 8:

 
WEATHER: Never froze last night, sap ran all night and all day today, but not a spectacular run.
 
BOILING STATUS: Today was Day Seven. Last year this date, March 8th,  was our first day of boiling.
 
SYRUP STATUS: Up over 1100 gallons, all Fancy.
 
INTRODUCING...The Main Main, our central mainline in what we call "the old bush". The wends its way circuitously up and around Nebraska Knoll, branching at The Cache, a wooden storage box on a plateau of stately ash trees intermingled with sugar maples. One branch passes through a saddle - that's the Saddle Line; the other branch ascends to The Podium.
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "You know that doesn't drain the hose, you have to disconnect it at the Y and drain it from there. Otherwise you're only draining half the hose."
 
 
March 9:
WIND FROM THE NORTH, SAP FLOWS FORTH
WIND FROM THE EAST, SAP FLOWS LEAST
WIND FROM THE SOUTH, SAP'S A DROUGHT
WIND FROM THE WEST, SAP FLOWS BEST
 
WEATHER: Today had it all: Wind from the northwest, freezing night last night, full sun, temp. in the high 30's. The best run of the year, but short, since the lines froze up at dusk. The Morningside taps woke up today.
 
Part way up the MAIN MAIN, a lesser main line called Ledge Line joins up with it. Ledge Line hugs the contour, past the ledges, past the Plaza, all the way to the Gulch. The Gulch is not "a steep-walled valley cut by a swift-running stream" as its name suggests; it is a cozy nook between a pretty ledge and a rough slope. Follow the Gulch to its highest point and its a short walk down and across to the Cache.
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The big thing about sugaring is knowing when to work and when to sit down."
 
MACRO: An audible wind today.
              Shade at the base of trees, sun on the crowns. 
           
MICRO: Old, pockmarked corn snow peppered with hemlock twigs, needles, seeds and beech leaves.
            Calls of Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee and Phoebe, Phoebe. 
            Sparks emitted from sugarhouse swim into the night sky like orange tadpoles
MARCH 10:
 
WEATHER: Low last night 20, high today 40, bluebird. Another in a string of true sugaring days.
 
TOUR OF THE SUGARBUSH, CONTINUED: Walk back through the Gulch down the slope to NORTH CONNECTION, a mainline curving around the knoll at a lower tier than Ledge Line, above a cliff draped with dirty icicles, home to porcupines. Now you're on Dome Road near a tree called Old Suzanna, formerly tapped by the sugarmaker before us who gathered sap with his horses. She's now in retirement.
 
REPORT FROM THE FIELD CREW: Snowshoes are no longer necessary for checking lines, except at the top of the Keystone lines.
 
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Another perfect draw, number seven!!!"  (stay tuned)