Well we have had another unusual winter in Minnesota, warm, in the 60’s on Valentines day, then cold for a bit then last week more warmth and 60’s and thunderstorms and tornadoes, go figure. Today is March 9th and the forecast is for a week of winter like temps, really??? in March??. -1 degrees is forecast for tonight in the St. Croix Valley. We were one of the few sugar makers in the area that have not tapped yet. Yes, we missed last weeks run which people said was a good one, however now with this cold and wind, the tap holes begin to dry out a bit. It has been my experience that the largest sap runs come at the end of the season and not at the beginning. We plan to tap our trees beginning next Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday. The forecast Temperatures look great through April 10th. Hopefully our decision to wait was a good one. Keep in mind we have 2000 buckets and it is impossible to re-tap all those if we tap too early. I recall a year where we tapped old growth maples in Center City, MN, big trees, on March 10th. Then we had below zero temps for 10 days. Those trees yielded zero sap because the holes dried up. I have never made that same mistake again. Anyway, we all have a great season yet to come and the party is just getting started. Have fun, and remember, we are all in this together.
Don