first run!

March generally has perfect weather for Maple sugaring: cold nights and warm days. With the major cold snap we had this past week the dripping stopped, and the sap froze solid in the buckets. We had collected some first run sap a few days back, so we decided to give "Little Eva," Josh's evaporator its trial run:












The average ratio is 40:1 which means lots of boiling. The first run is usually the sweetest: we boiled down six gallons and got a whole quart, which is pretty good!









I meant to take a picture of the finished product, however - um - let's just say that jar didn't remain in a "photogenic" state for long! Hopefully I will get some better pictures this week. As of right now, the sap is back up and running and the forecast looks to be perfect for some serious sugarin'!