Author: Billiondrops Sugarbush

This is the forest trail behind our home today.

The latest cold spell is almost behind us now so today (so since it warmed up to 20 degrees) we drilled another 50 taps in. Total taps in so far are about 725, with roughly 150 left to go! The forecast is calling for a daily increase in temperatures now so perhaps by Tuesday all taps will be drilled in, lines flushed and we’re ready to begin collecting sap. we’ll see what happens and I’ll keep the posts updated. Thank you everyone for checking back!

It is February 7th, and winter has settled in again with subzero wind chills and single digit temperatures. Last week’s warm up allowed me to drill in over 500 taps.

Tubing replacements and repairs are at an all time high. There was more squirrel damage than ever this year so with that said there will be a lot more squirrel control efforts in effect. Don’t let their cute little faces fool you…these little critters can do a lot of costly damage in a short time!

It is nice to get a jump on things with the lack of snow and pleasant weather. Snow accumulations are about 5″ with another 3 to 6 coming on Saturday. It could be one of those years where the snow may pile up in the next couple months, so the sooner taps get drilled in the better! After all the taps are in it can snow as much as it likes.

Check back soon, I think I have the bugs worked out of the vacuum pump, so I’ll post an update on that.

January 27th is the official day we started drilling holes. It is the 2nd year in a row that the weather is indicating that spring is coming. The new vacuum pump is completed and ready for service. Forecast is calling for above average temperatures through The week so it’s time to take advantage!

Happy New Year Everyone!

We have been cleaning up storm damage since June and then came a major interruption!

In mid-August I had a serious blind side and had to go through spinal surgery. The recovery was slow the first 8 weeks, so now after 5 months I’m at about 80% power. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to the 100% mark again with all things considered. I am just thankful to be back at it!

All & all I have healed enough to continue repairing lines and do other things in preparation for this season.

For the last month I have been engineering and assembling a new 5 hp rotary vein vacuum pump system. I will post a couple photos soon since it is nearing completion.

I forgot to hit the “publish ” button on this post, so I will now…

Well we went on a vacation trip on the 17th of may. we returned on the 27th to find that it did nothing but rain and had about 25 trees down from high storm winds. Our high pump and vacuum main lines were ripped down and a lot of lateral lines torn loose as well. Many were snapped at the base and also numerous uprooted ones due to ground saturation. Countless “widow makers” everywhere also. The ones I dislike most are the tall “leaners” they are difficult and dangerous to get down. I’m sure I will be working at clean up for the next year or so.

It’s been about 6 years now since we had storm damage and I hope it will hold off for several more!

I will soon be getting things up to date with the year end approaching. Please check back in the next couple weeks as I plan to get caught up with information and up coming plans.

The spring croakers have emerged on Saturday April 6th. I’m finding by experience when that happens, the season is over. The ground has reached the temperature that promotes frogs & forest plants to begin.

Total sap count is 12,600 gallons, A new record!

We’ve added a new page called “Imparting Knowledge“. This page has information of our experience or points of interest.

We have surpassed the sap record. last year was the high of 11,800 gallons. As of this morning it stands at 12, 300 gallons and climbing. Now I can live up to the “Billion Drops” name, YAAAY!

From February 3rd up through today, (April 2nd), 60 days have lapsed. Out of that the forest sap ran a total of 29 days according to my data. We had a lot of freeze ups and a big gap from March 13th through the 25th.

The weather has gone back to normal and we’re getting freezing nights and warm days so the sap has been running again. It is a different taste but I have found a new producer who is taking late season sap for grade B syrup. I understand that it is good for making baked goods & such. This week will be the end for sure for it is time to clean up things and pull taps.

When I gather the data, I’ll report how many days produced since February 4th when we started.