The spring melt is beginning to make gathering sap difficult and muddy.

March 31, 2020 - Tuesday evening

37 degrees/cloudy skies/calm winds

Pentoga Road

Sargie and I spent much of Tuesday in the woods. With the current chilly, cloudy, weather, we didn't know if the sap would run and were surprised when we discovered most of the bags were full to overflowing shortly after noon. Sargie and I gathered over forty gallons during our first trip to the woods.

After the heavy rain a couple of days ago, we found four or five bags containing sap with a yellow tinge, a sign that the season is getting on. 

We gathered over twenty gallons this evening and  none of the sap was yellow so I'm fairly certain rain was the cause. Late sap also turns yellow just before a tree is ready to bud. If too much is used, the syrup will be dark and have an unpleasant flavor.

 Since the trees are showing no sign of budding, I'm not worried about using the sap. Also, the syrup we've put up so far is very light. Syrup boils progressively darker as the season goes along and has a stronger maple flavor. 

Sargie and I took a stroll around the property late this afternoon. The front meadow is filling with melt and rain water and it won't be long before Lake Pentoga is filled with water.

The garden pond continues to open up. Sargie and I spent some time trying to count how many goldfish made it through the winter. The water is crystal clear, but since the fish were swimming in eleven feet of water, it was difficult to get an exact count.

With the snow quickly disappearing from the maple woods, I'm going to park the Tundra snowmobile and get the four wheeler ready for hauling sap. The first chore after Wednesday morning's walk will be to build a box large enough to hold two five gallon buckets and fit on the back of the ATV. The forecast is favorable for another few days of gathering sap, enough to finish out the year.



I have some forms to complete in the morning that requires me to be online. Since our internet is so slow due to traffic during the day, I'll take advantage of the faster speeds early in the morning. After, I'll go for my morning walk then begin the day for real.

Meanwhile, it's this boy's bedtime. 

After all, a man's work is never done.

So are the tales from Pentoga Road...

Today's random Alaska picture:
A bush plane is landing on the ice in front of my cabin on the Noatak River. We were flying to a small village in the Brooks Mountain Range, several hundred miles away.