Tapping in Snow

Last week started off as classic Thaw. Highs in the upper 30s°F would melt the ice and snow during the day. Lows in the 20s°F would encrust the evening puddles with ice by morning. The trend was marching closer to Spring and open water. That changed on the weekend.

The start of the week was not all skittles and Spring. Before the temperatures rose above cold, it snowed. Driveways needed clearing and the roads became treacherous.

The clever among us found ways to get around that required only bundling up, sitting, and saying, "Faster".

Eventually the storm passed, the sun came out, and we were back to Thaw.

The return of the warmer weather has made the wild turkeys around the bar more active.

We'll be sure to shoo them off the deck before the next bar night.

The old bottle rocket war forts continue to suffer during the thaw. The outside walls are all that's left of the south fort. The north fort is essentially gone.

The snow coming off some of the roofs around the lake rival the bar's legendary curls.

By mid-week, parts of Knott Lane were ice free. Other parts were still covered by 2 inches of ice. Some local sugarmen decided to tap a few maples to see if the sap was running.

It was.

It was agreed that the rest of the spiles, buckets, and lids needed to be in the woods. Before the hundreds of taps were joined to maples, feet needed to be joined to the ATV.

The last bolt was torqued just after the sun went down.

This temporary snow and cold should pass, so the men were sent into the snowy sugarbush to continue tapping operations.

About a third of the buckets were set before they had to go back.

The snow is really starting to pile up on the buckets, in the woods, and all around the lake.

Lake Lucerne Drive has become particularly interesting.

The snow in the woods is pushing 2 feet deep with some drifts going over a yard. Snowshoes are a must if you're planning to tap more than 2 trees. It's not like you would sink up to your waist, but to plunge in over your knees with every step is exhausting. We did not get out onto the ice to check its depth. With the return of the cold and all the snow, it should be around the 16 inches we had the week before. Ice-out is unlikely in the next week or three, but when it does go out, all that melting snow will push the lake level up quite a bit.

-Nemo's ready with taps, buckets, spiles, and plenty of Ibuprofen

Tapping in Snow

March 6th through 12th, 2023