Spring Cleaning

I apologize for my lack of postings recently. I would however, ask everyone to notice the title is not "Confessions of a Diligent Blogger". The syrup season is nearly complete! Actual, it is but one part remains----the dreaded clean up.

Some of the aftermath-each of those 5 gallon buckets has tubing in it also....

I resolved in January when I was cleaning with ice water trying to get ready for the sap I would have an orderly and efficient clean up time this year and by god I am trying to. The first thing is the tubing. As with many things in the maple community, there is some disagreement over cleaning. Some folks use bleach water, which others say attract rodents and leaves a poor taste in the lines. Some do not do any cleaning. I am of the flushing fresh water through the lines crowd, followed by compressed air and a drying period. To do this, I built a contraption that allows me hook the tubing up to our hose bib and force water through the tubing. I use a compressor to blow out the tube and then hang dry with a weight on the bottom to allow water to drain out. Once they dry, I will store them in a 55 gallon drum by tap amounts on the line.

 

 

As for the buckets. We scrub any debris or dirt out and then rinse with a water-bleach solution (20:1 is the recommended amount) and allow to air dry. Then they will be stacked and covered in the sugar shack. By far this is the most tedious part of the process but is key to making good syrup next year and saves money on having to buy new tubing and buckets each year.

With any luck this will be complete by tomorrow. Then the real fun starts with the cleaning of the evaporator. All the ashes get shoveled out and the grates are removed for cleaning. Then all the small parts are taken off and cleaned in the sink. The larger parts like the pans will be pressure washed and scrubbed. I am in the market for some covers to go over the top for the off season but most likely I will just store the pans upside down so they won't collect dust and debris. Now you can see how exciting things have been over the past week or so and why no postings. I'll spare you the fascinating story of getting our taxes done.....

 

 

In other news, the snow is mostly gone and cleanup of the winter mess has begun. Erica the calf is happy because she gets to spend her days out in the back field taking sun baths. The mini truck is back on the road and the heated buckets have all been put to bed. One season down, the next is just beginning. Soon we'll be shearing the sheep to get ready for lambs!