Looking at the forecast it appears this season will end for me on April 13. Not because the trees will be done, but I’ll need the time then to finish off what I have to be ready for surgery on April 18 and then no work for 2 weeks followed by 4 weeks of no lifting anything over 10#. There is only a little I can do at the sugarhouse and keep in the 10# lift limit.
This year, even with my delayed start on doctor’s orders will end up OK. The buds on my sugar maples are still tight, and between now and 4/13 most nights will be below freezing. It does look like that may start to change on 4/14.
I still don’t have a count on how many gallons I’ve made, it is all in my finisher so far. As long as the grade stays the same as what is in the finisher I’ll keep pumping the syrup drawn off the evaporator to there, up until I have 80-90 gal, then I’ll need to finish it off, verify and adjust density as necessary and then pack some in bottles and jugs while the rest will get packed into a SS barrel for future needs.
I only pack enough at one time in retail containers to fill my freezers (all syrup is stored in one of my 2 freezers at the sugarhouse, it retains the flavor best that way, until it is sold).
While the trees are slowing down I still get 100-175 gal of sap most days so til then I’ll keep going.