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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Although winter has been quite “wintry” this year and the forecast is calling for 2 more days below 0 at night, mid-February is right around the corner and showing highs in the upper 30s in central Ulster County. When those temperatures arrive, the firstContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? 2025 Maple season is a wrap. I finished with about 6.75 gallons from 17 taps or 0.39 gallons of syrup/tap. My average is somewhere around 0.45, so this year is slightly below average. The season was pretty short, but furiously busy during one week.Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? It’s been a cold winter, at least compared to what we’ve experienced in the last few years. Last year this time, I was wrapping up my maple sugaring season. Today (February 22nd) marks an “old-fashioned” start time. The older residents of the area tellContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Another maple sugaring season is in the books. All in all about an average year for me. Made about 7.5 gallons of syrup from 17 taps or 0.44 gallons of syrup/tap, which seems to be my normal. I think the take-away from this seasonContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Thursday, January 25th marked my first boil of the 2024 Maple Sugaring Season. Although last week was quite “wintry” with cold temperatures freezing everything up, this week and the foreseeable forecast is quite “maply.” Highs are climbing into the 40s and freezing at night,Continue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? I mentioned before that January 2nd was the earliest I’ve ever tapped trees. It would then make sense that February 10th is the earliest I’ve ever “pulled” or taken down my buckets. Once you tap that tree–and if the weather remains good for sap-flow–thenContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Last week I got to experience “sap snow.” This is an unusual phenomenon where snow is falling above freezing (mid-30s), and maple sap is running fast into the buckets. As you might imagine, snow normally requires freezing or below temperatures, while sap demands freezingContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? If you’re a skier or snowshoer, this winter (so far) has been a bust. But this unusually warmer January has been great for maple sugaring. My 18 buckets gave 47 gallons of sap in one day last week. That means on average, these tapsContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Well, the maple sugaring season seems to be finally in full-swing. The short-term forecast shows some cold days coming up that might inhibit sap-flow, but this weekend also shows a day in the 60s! Although temperatures have been “warm” or conducive for sap-flow, treesContinue Reading

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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FOREST? Took a hike on a portion of State Forest Preserve last week. Some of this area used to be cleared for agriculture at one time. Now some of these areas have gone from growing cows to growing beautiful sugar maples. Tree cutting inside StateContinue Reading