Tree Tapping Weekend II

March 8th through 11th, 2012

Lake Lucerne
During tapping weekend I, 120 maple trees were holed. Twice as many were to be spiled this weekend.
Lake Lucerne
Buckets were first ATV'd up to the trees and later, when the warm weather made the road too soft, sledded up.
Lake Lucerne
240 additional trees were given holes.
Lake Lucerne
And spiles and buckets.
Lake Lucerne
Just after noon on Saturday, the sap started to run.
Lake Lucerne
Sap was collected on Sunday.
Lake Lucerne
240 gallons were pulled from the woods by the time the collecting was over.
Lake Lucerne
Cookers were fired and sap started its journey towards syrup.
Lake Lucerne
Lots of snow is still in the woods, but Knott lane ended the weekend snow free.
Lake Lucerne
All during the tapping process, there was ice on the lake and a water-slush mix on top of that ice. I would guess that the ice is over 15 inches thick. I regret not drilling a hole to check it. I also lament not putting up the rain gauge before we left. I think we got almost half of an inch of rain by Monday afternoon but again that's just a guess. Looking at the shore, the lake may be a bit lower than it was at ice in. Boo. Active springs and all that snow on the watershed should push it up a bit. We need a really wet spring.


-Nemo predicts ice-out and golf are just a few weeks away.