ashaway r.i.__ this past winter has been one of the snowiest winter’s to date. it was multiple blizzards that buried the northeast and the people of rhode island went into hibernation.

uncle buck’s sugar house in ashaway, r.i. felt the impact of such a cold and snowy winter.

“we had to use the tractor to shovel the snow so that we could get to some of the trees to tap them,” said uncle buck.

uncle buck’s maple trees had a tough winter. he usually taps his trees in late january or early february. this season he couldn’t tap a tree until march 6th. it was this late start that really changed how buck does his business.

normally bringing in well over 65 gallons of sap a year, this year he was only able to bring in just under 60 gallons. he had a loss of about 8% of his business because of this harsh winter.

buck is optimistic about next winter though hoping to get some more equipment so that he can have 100 more taps next season.

“that first winter in 1997 was a cold one watching water boil on the back deck for only one gallon of sap, but my business has grown every year since then,” said uncle buck