Sunrise Sugarhouse

08/02/2021

Are you considering a do it yourself project that requires lumber ?? We're currently cutting up a fairly large number of conifer logs (95% white pine logs) this winter and spring and will be offering rough cut lumber at very reasonable prices ( roughly %75 of what you'd pay at one of the big box lumber stores). Most of this will be in standard lumber sizes and will be air dried. We are posting this to see how much interest there is in custom cut material. If you're interested write me a comment with your interest or questions. You can also call the house phone. Thanks !

31/01/2021

We're downsizing our operation - lots of great new and gently used maple sap collecting and syrup making equipment for sale. For pictures or more info call the house phone ( 989-724-9381) or send us a message.

Sunrise Sugarhouse – surplus equipment sale

¾ inch mainline tubing – 500 ft roll - new – $86.40 price - asking $65

1 inch mainline tubing – 500 ft roll – new $144 price- asking $105

Assorted spiles, connectors etc for tubing- $25

Line construction tools

Double grip parallel movement installation tool -
Dual grip lite #31-71109 –new $154.95 - asking $110

Single grip installation tool w/ parallel movement –
new $102.50 (bought used ) – asking $70

Mainline drill 31/64 drill – red – new $ 95 – asking $60

Line suspension tools

Spinning jenny – new $53 – asking $25.00

Wire tightening ratchets (7) – new $3.25 each – all for $15.00

Handle for wire tightner – new $5.50 / used price - asking $3.00

Assorted suspension wire - $15

5” wire for attaching tube to wire- $3

Sap collection and storage

20 Food grade 5 gal buckets with lids $5.00 each or $75 for all (SOLD )

Used 275 gal food grade tote – previously stored fructalose from bakery in Grand Rapids - $100 each or both for $175

(4) Corny kegs – used paid $35 each – all 4 for $100 firm

500 gal stainless dairy tank – price $1250 firm

200 gal Sunset stainless creamer tank – price $500 firm

Deer run E-125 Electric expandable reverse osmosis unit – never used with filters - new $2695 – asking $2500

06/01/2021

SOLD :-)

05/01/2021

After 35 years of being together , sharing love, hard work, care and devotion it saddens me to announce an important relationship has come to an end. I'm speaking of course to something close to both Becky and I - something unique we've shared since 1986. We've both come to the conclusion we want to spice things up a bit, and allow our old but much loved LT 20 Aluminum Woodmizer Sawmill to move onto other woodlots and replace it with a new sawmill. This is just the kind of reckless, fly by night folks we are - making wild, haphazard decisions at the drop of a hat....every 35 years or so. But hey, our loss is potentially your gain ! This unique sawmill was designed to break down into 7 pieces, and fit into a crate that fits in the back of a pickup so it is highly transportable. They were originally designed and marketed by Wooodmizer to allow you to set up a sawmill anywhere you could either drive to, or get all the pieces to and reassemble them, such as Alaska, or Michigan's UP. They are no longer made by Woodmizer and evidently have become quite collectable. As such, we are asking $3000. If you are interested in this sawmill, or just curious and want to talk sawmills, either send me an IM or call the house phone. Thanks Dave

03/01/2021

During this latest quarantine stint we decided to try something new - making maple sugar from our maple syrup. After a few hiccups we believe we have it figured out and have a very limited supply - we are selling 2 cup packages in baggies for $10.00 and currently have a very limited supply. If you're interested call the house phone - 989-724-9381 . If we're not in, leave a message - while supplies last !

Dave and Becky Riegle

03/12/2019

As we shared earlier, we plan to give away several containers of our wood fired maple syrup to those that can financially support Friends of Negwegon State Park (FONSP) during today's activities on Giving Tuesday.

We strongly believe the world needs wild places and frequently take the opportunity to enjoy this incredibly beautiful wild area right in our backyard ! Listen to my interview today on our local radio station WTF (FM 97.9) at noon and you'll hear portions of the rich history of this area and how this area has faced threats of development in the past, and ( if history is any guide) will likely face them again. Joining and supporting this organization ensures there will be voices to speak for the wild places, and ensure their continued existence for our children and grandchildren. For those of you not in the listening area, you can also listen to this interview online.

We have decided to donate 1 gallon, two half gallons, and two quarts in a random drawing of names of those that support this worthy cause :-) .

29/11/2019

A reminder that Tuesday December 3rd is Giving Tuesday -This is a great way to support your local charities. In order to "sweeten" the deal, Sunrise Sugarhouse will be giving away free maple syrup to a few lucky winners who donate to Friends of Negwegon State Park . More information to follow :-)

25/09/2019

As fall starts to gather around us we here at Sunrise Sugarhouse feel blessed to enjoy the support of so many new friends and folks interested in our products. The bourbon maple syrup was a HUGE hit this year, and we will likely be doing another barrel next year.

If you are already thinking of Christmas, we have a very small bit of the bourbon infused left, a fairly good assortment of coffee bean infused and some great pricing on our maple syrup in quarts and half gallons. Once it's gone, we'll all need to wait for next year !

03/09/2019

Thank you so much for your support for those who could attend the Harrisville Art Fair. It is always great to meet new people who are excited about making maple syrup :-) .

29/08/2019

Wow - Pre-Art Fair sales have been incredible ! Thanks to all who have supported our small operation - your kind words mean more than you know.

At this point, we have sold approximately two-thirds of our bourbon barrel infused syrup in less than a week. We are nearly out of our 16 oz containers but have a couple cases of the 12 oz, and 3 cases of 8 oz remaining.

We also have 2 cases of 6.4 oz if you are already thinking ahead toward Christmas - these would make a great stocking stuffer or gift for that person who is hard to shop for.

Our supplies of coffee bean infused and citrus infused are also limited after a brisk sales year - once they are gone we'll all have to wait until next season.

We are currently offering our special on regular wood fired maple syrup and will continue that sale at the art fair or until we run out. We have quarts, half gallons and a limited supply of full gallon containers. If you are interested in a larger quantity, send me a PM and we can discuss.

We will be set up in our usual place ( South side of the Harrisville Art Fair - Thank you once again Dawn Cooper :-) ) . Hope you have a great last weekend of summer, no matter where you spend it :-)

25/08/2019

Fall clearance sale :

All regular quarts now $15,
All regular half gallons $25.

While supplies last :-)

23/08/2019

Pricing for our bourbon barrel syrup :

16 oz - $14 / bottle
12 oz - $12/ bottle
8 oz - $10 / bottle
6.4 oz $8 / bottle

Supplies are extremely limited and the interest in this has really surprised us so it is going fast ! We expect to be sold out of this by the end of the upcoming Labor Day Art Fair in Harrisville.

If you live in or near Harrisville and can do so, call the house and we'd gladly sell you some out of the house before the Art fair ( 989-724-9381).

If you have reserved a bottle, I'll be trying to get in touch with you before Labor day weekend ( or you can confirm your order by getting hold of us).

If you live in (or near) Battle Creek we will be down in the BC area the week of September 21st and would glady bring some and meet with you to save you shipping costs.

Thank you all for the continued support and interest :-)

18/08/2019

The magic has happened !! We tapped the bourbon barrel syrup today and packaged our first ever batch of bourbon infused syrup. The aroma in the finishing room was "heady" and the taste is incredible !! We are so anxious for folks to try this amazing taste :-) .

Unfortunately the yield from the 15 gallon barrel was diminished by almost 2 1/2 gallons due to ( I'm guessing) the absorption of some syrup by the oak barrel itself. Something we hadn't planned on. As a result we were unable to package any quarts. We do have several cases of pints (16 oz) glass that will be available - our apologies but this is definitely a learning experience. We will be posting the pricing for this special blend soon.

29/07/2019

Well the moment many have been awaiting has ALMOST arrived. In 3 weeks ( the week of August 20th) we will be tapping the bourbon barrel syrup keg ( pictures below) and packaging our first run of bourbon infused maple syrup - we couldn't be more excited !! We are offering a 10% discount on any orders placed BEFORE we tap the keg - if you have placed an order earlier, let us know if your order has changed.

We will be selling this special batch out of the house and the Harrisville Art Fair again this year.

10/07/2019

23/04/2019

We will be coming to the Battle Creek area in a few days for a couple day visit over this weekend. If you would like me to bring some syrup down it will save you the cost of shipping - just let me know what you'd like and we can figure out the best way to meet up with you :-)

16/04/2019

We tried something new today and I couldn't be more excited for the outcome. The wooden barrel I'm filling in the pictures is a freshly drained 15 gallon bourbon barrel. Now before you jump to conclusions, I'll share I'm not a bourbon drinker - although after this long winter perhaps I should start LOL.

The aroma was incredible as we filled this barrel with hot fresh maple syrup - you might say it was intoxicating ! I have to admit I was a bit nervous about the process having never done this before - 15 gallons is a lot of syrup to waste if things go wrong. I received some great tips and help from folks who have done this and by reading on line.

We ( and you ) will now need to be patient and wait 3-4 months as the syrup ages in the barrel before it can be put into bottles and sold. If this sounds like something you might be interested in, get your orders in now -it won't last long when we start tapping the keg in mid August. Fortunately for me, it might be that long before the heavenly aroma of the hot syrup and bourbon dims in my memory.

What a great experience !! :-)

15/04/2019

It's been a hectic syrup season - without hesitation I can say this has been the most challenging for me to date !

Although the actual sap flow only lasted less than a month, we gathered and boiled over 5000 gallons of sap. Most years the natural rhythm of sap flow is one to several days of flow followed by a day off. This "down time" is often spent replenishing wood supply in the Sugarhouse, canning some of the syrup you've been fortunate enough to make, cleaning supplies and generally getting ready for the next sap run. This year although we started flowing 2-3 weeks later than usual, there were VERY few down days.

I apologize for not posting anything during the season, but we would love to hear back from you. Hope all is well with you and those you love in your life :-)

We have been blessed with an abundance of syrup, and we feel fortunate to have the good health and resources to process Mother Nature's bounty. As a result we are dropping our prices this year as compared to the last few years. It' my hope to get those prices posted in the next few weeks so you can start ordering. As always, stop by the house if you're in the area - we'd love to hear from you :-)

05/12/2018

This year Giving Tuesday was an overwhelming success for the Friends of Negwegon SP. We easily surpassed last years donations . A hearty THANK YOU to those who donated or passed along the information on Giving Tuesday. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated. If you happen to visit Negwegon in the future or have done so in the past, I'd love to see pictures or read of your adventures :-)

27/11/2018

Congratulations ! Pass this on to those who you feel might consider giving :-)

TODAY is Giving Tuesday! From 12 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. you can make a gift to any of the 60 nonprofits participating in our online event! Who will take home the Giving Tuesday Golden Goose??

Visit www.cfnem.org/givingtuesday to make your donation TODAY!

Our nonprofits do incredible work and truly need your support. Please consider a donation today, and help us celebrate the giving season!

27/11/2018

Today is the day !! please consider giving to this group - Negwegon is such a beautiful place.

"The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day."
--Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

It is time to recognize the Night Sky as a Natural Resource worth protecting. And that is why Friends of Negwegon worked to get Negwegon designated a Michigan State Park Dark Sky Preserve.

21/11/2018

It’s never too early to teach our kids and grandkids the value of giving back. What are the youngsters in YOUR life passionate about? Giving Tuesday is a great way to involve kids in meaningful giving for their community. Providing them with a “giving allowance” for Giving Tuesday, and then letting them choose which nonprofits they want to support is an awesome start in learning to GIVE!

21/11/2018

Please consider donating to the Friends of Negwegon SP - donations will be used to support many worthwhile efforts including invasive w**d control to protect this special environment

Huron Pines AmeriCorps members helped Friends of Negwegon control invasive invaders! Thank you, Huron Pines !

09/11/2018

For those who haven't had the pleasure of seeing it, Negwegon State park is an incredibly beautiful piece of natural Lake Huron shoreline right here in Northeast Michigan. As a member of Friends of Negwegon State Park I can tell you this group is made up entirely of hardworking volunteers who have joined together to help support the MDNR in their stewardship of the park. Consider giving to this worthy cause during the upcoming Giving Tuesday charity event.

03/09/2018

Another incredible year selling syrup at the Harrisville Art Fair / Harmony Weekend - in fact our best year ever :-). We owe many thanks - first and foremost to Dawn Cooper for allowing us to take over her beautiful front yard - your generosity is inspiring and greatly appreciated - THANK YOU.

Also THANK YOU to one and all who were either first time supporters or one of our faithful band of syrup supporters over the years - we really appreciate your kind words of encouragement and support - it keeps us going and makes the long hours of boiling worthwhile.

We sold more syrup this year than any other BUT we made more earlier this year. What that means is we have a surplus after the art fair. It's never too early to get orders in for Christmas gifts - when the syrup is gone, we will all have to wait until next spring for more :-)

We have some great deals going on several categories - send me a PM, give us a call at the house, or stop by and hopefully we can meet your needs - THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN !

31/08/2018

We will be in Battle Creek the weekend of 9/15 and we would be glad to bring some syrup for you. Let us know quantity and size of containers. We have a great deal going on 1/2 gallons right now, and not sure you will find quarts less expensive than ours :-). If you'd like to try some coffee bean infused let me know - thanks once again for your support :-)

30/08/2018

Good morning ! We are anxiously awaiting our opportunity to see you once again at the Labor Day Art Fair in Harrisville. We will once again be set up on the South side. We've got some great deals on syrup this year and plenty to sell ! Mention that you saw this on FB and get a $1.00 off anything we sell :-)

11/08/2018

Heard of something different and was considering this for a small amount of our syrup sales for next year. Some folks are aging their syrup in used bourbon barrels - now I'm not a big bourbon drinker but have tried this and it is VERY tasty. If you like this idea ( once again on a limited basis not all our inventory) hit the "like" button - if you think this an abomination and a crime against maple syrup pureness hit the "sad" button. Of course your comments are always welcome. Thanks once again for your continued support of this venture !

04/08/2018

Spent the morning picking blueberries at the Tawas Blueberry Farm owned by the Czaika family - it's one of our favorite things to do late summer. The berries are tremendous this year - even more so then the "usual" tremendous. The berries are huge, extremely abundant and incredibly tasty !!

What a great family operation operated by some incredibly kind and pleasant folks. We were easily able to pick a year's supply of blueberries (30 lbs) in less than 1 1/2 hours. We eat as many as we can fresh, then freeze the rest and pull them out regularly for smoothies, blueberries in muffins, cobbler or in pancakes ( I happen to know a guy who has syrup) .

If you are looking for something fun to do this afternoon or tomorrow morning look them up - they are about a mile or two south of Tawas on Legget road. You can find them virtually on FB or their website. They are open Friday - Monday 8-8 for about a month, or until the berries run out :-)

15/06/2018

"What have you been up to? Haven't seen you out much lately".

When I run into folks, the conversation generally starts something like this.... Last years bounty of sap left a tremendous amount of boiling to be done. Because we run a wood fired evaporator ( they are becoming harder to find these days ), it takes a lot of wood in a normal year (whatever THAT is LOL ) .

But as I said several times already, last year was not only not "normal" it was exceptional - but the down side is we went through a ton of wood. Putting wood up for the evaporator is honest satisfying work, but it does wear an old guy like me out at times. Sure glad I have my lovely sidekick to help out.

Unlike the wood for your wood stove, each piece for the evaporator needs to be split until it is roughly 1 1/2 to 2" square to make the fire hot and fast - thats a LOT of splitting and handling.

My best estimate is we are well above 10,000 pieces in our existing piles, but believe we are set for next year. We can't be satisfied until I'm at least two years ahead (as it takes a good six months for the wood to "cure") but can breathe a bit easier now knowing next year is at least covered ( unless it's not "normal LOL).

04/06/2018

What an awesome experience while on a quick but amazing tour of Michigan's Upper Peninsula - this beautiful American Redstart was absolutely fearless of Becky and I - it looked as though he was gleaning mosquitoes that were swarming around us. If you turn up your sound you'll be treated to his song at the end

22/05/2018

Well the sap has quit flowing, cleanup has nearly been completed - played hooky from my chores and had a great day collecting morels today :-) .

17/05/2018

There is a new look to the Sunrise Sugarhouse :-) Special thanks to the incredibly talented Sue (Biggs) Wallace the new sign out front is incredible and makes us impossible to miss ! Thank you Sue for all your hard work and awesome talent :-)

19/04/2018

As this incredible season comes to a close it's impossible to avoid feeling incredibly blessed. It's been a long, long season. Today we picked up what might be our last sap collection. The 445 gal we picked up put us over the top - we now have collected and will soon boil 6095 gal of sap. If you told me we would collect and boil 5000 let alone 6095 gal of sap this year I would have laughed and said no way. That amount exceeds the amount we gathered and boiled in the last 3 years combined ! So it has been an incredible year. This was also clearly a huge year for syrup making - we still don't have a final tally but we are now well over 100 gal of syrup produced. It was in the back of my mind to do that "someday" but had no idea, that "someday" would be this year.

I must say a special thanks to Jamie Lynn Clark - this would not have been possible without the kindness and generosity she has shown to allow us to tap her beautiful maple trees. Thank you Jamie :-)

Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement and support - they mean more than I can share.

11/04/2018

Syrup lovers in the greater Battle Creek area - we will be making our annual pilgrimage to BC again this year near the end of the month and would be happy to bring some syrup along for you to purchase . If you could either respond to this post or IM me before 4/25 we would love to share the bounty of this incredible maple syrup season ( if it ever ends LOL ).

09/04/2018

WOW - sometimes words just fail to fully express the magnitude of something monumental. This maple syrup season is one of those times. A few weeks ago ( it actually seems like MUCH longer than that LOL ) I posted that there appeared to be some great sap flow weather coming . Normally a few good sap flow days in a row can make or break your sap collection season. The sap flowed extremely well for those days..... and then it just kept flowing, and flowing and flowing. We have now doubled our best collection year ever and it looks possible with a few more good days of collection we will collect as much sap in one year as the last three years combined ..... AMAZING just doesn't come close to expressing how incredible this is adequately. Of course all that sap needed to be boiled into syrup with long hours hauling wood and tending the evaporator - thank heavens we had reinforcements in the form of my daughter Jen Riegle my son-in law Chris Holder and their daughter Penelope. They couldn't have come at a better time - thank you guys !! After a brief reprieve, just when if often is coming to a close, it now looks like this incredible season will be continuing ......as always if you see steam coming from the Sugarhouse, stop on in :-) .

31/03/2018

Wow - what an incredible sap season so far !! Making some beautiful syrup :-)

26/03/2018

There's an old saying "Be careful what you wish for" that applies this week. I believe the old Sugarmaker who would have been 91 yesterday said it more than once. So far this sap season has been good. and we have been blessed with decent sap weather, but the daily high temps have been a little low, and the nightly lows have been quite cold for this time of year. As we have battled the frozen sap in all our buckets and tanks we've idly wished for "perfect" sap weather ( overnight lows in the mid twenties, daily highs in the mid 40s). As proof of her sense of humor, Mother Earth is giving us EXACTLY what we've wished for this week - like an entire week of it !! If the weather holds as predicted, we may literally be up to our eyebrows in sap. As you likely know, sap has a limited shelf life once it leaves the tree. In warmer temps it can spoil in a matter of a day or two. Keeping up with this possible "sap tsunami " - collecting, hauling and boiling it all will be a challenge ! We are so excited ! Wanted to share this so that if you send me a message, drop by the house, or the Sugarhouse you know we haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. Know that we have fallen into our dream, where buckets and tanks are always full, the wood supply never runs out, and the evaporator is always steaming !! Thank you Mother Earth for blessing us with this abundance -we will do all in our power not to waste a drop and to turn it into the sweet elixir we call syrup.

19/03/2018

The last few days the weather has been great for sap flow. It took us about 2 hours to pick up the 475 gallons of sap Sunday evening, and another hour and half to put it in the main storage tank in the Sugarhouse. After that much work at the end of an already long day, most "normal" people would be exhausted - but clearly maple syrup makers are not "normal" people LOL.

I was so excited to start my boil in the morning, I felt like a little kid before Christmas morning. I tossed and turned much of the night, and a 445am decided why fight it, and got up. It was a beautiful cold crisp clear morning, and as I walked to the Sugarhouse in the dark, felt like I could reach up and touch the stars they seemed so close :-) .

As the Sugarhouse came in to view in the starlight, I remember feeling how lucky I am, and was truly feeling blessed. Just at that moment, a shooting star appeared just above the Sugarhouse, and I literally said out loud "thank you". It was an amazing morning, and just wanted to share - thank you all for your business and your words of encouragement - it means a lot . Stop on in if you see steam coming from the Sugarhouse !

10/03/2018

We collected a special seasonal treat today - we call them "Sapcicles". These are the icicles that form during this time of year when a Sugar maple is "leaking" sap from a broken or cut limb. Over time, they can become fairly large. We collected several and put them in the freezer - enough for Jen Riegle, Chris Holder and Penelope Holder to each have their own when they visit in a few weeks !