Coming back from the store yesterday afternoon, and checked on the collection tank. The sap was running. Allyn and I brought some wood in last night. I already had my boots on so I headed down to Nathan Hewitt's sugarhouse for a look. Lights were on and steam was rising out of all the sugarhouses in the valley.
Nathan had a select board meeting earlier in the evening and was just firing up. His son was there as well as a couple of other helpers from the neighborhood.
Nathan said that when it starts to "sheet" on the stirring pan, then you know that it's about ready. They stick a float in a bucket of sap, and when the float rises to a certain level, then you are sure it's syrup. If you continue to boil, then the sugar concentration increases. You can make maple cream and maple sugar from this process.
Another onlooker, also named Jim, stopped by. We talked about the weather forecast and the birds. Someone had seen robins. I said I had seen bluebirds. Jim said they usually arrive in February. Someone had seen a red-winged blackbird. I said I had seen three. Nathan had seen some black ducks and mallards. Jim had seen some grouse in his yard.
This blog is about the ordinary; and about the miraculous. This entry contains a little bit of both as usual, but skews toward the miraculous as far as I'm concerned. If ever there was a food that qualifies as ambrosia, it is maple syrup. Ira, Vermont is a backwater in almost every way, but there are at least a half dozen small, family-run sugar houses within walking distance of where we live. I feel like a lucky guy here on the other side of the creek.
Nathan had a select board meeting earlier in the evening and was just firing up. His son was there as well as a couple of other helpers from the neighborhood.
Nathan said that when it starts to "sheet" on the stirring pan, then you know that it's about ready. They stick a float in a bucket of sap, and when the float rises to a certain level, then you are sure it's syrup. If you continue to boil, then the sugar concentration increases. You can make maple cream and maple sugar from this process.
Another onlooker, also named Jim, stopped by. We talked about the weather forecast and the birds. Someone had seen robins. I said I had seen bluebirds. Jim said they usually arrive in February. Someone had seen a red-winged blackbird. I said I had seen three. Nathan had seen some black ducks and mallards. Jim had seen some grouse in his yard.
This blog is about the ordinary; and about the miraculous. This entry contains a little bit of both as usual, but skews toward the miraculous as far as I'm concerned. If ever there was a food that qualifies as ambrosia, it is maple syrup. Ira, Vermont is a backwater in almost every way, but there are at least a half dozen small, family-run sugar houses within walking distance of where we live. I feel like a lucky guy here on the other side of the creek.
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