Even in Vermont, ground-covering snowfall in October is a rare event; we were unpleasantly surprised last Friday when we got 2-3 inches overnight and had to spend some time clearing off the car in the morning. But that was all gone by that afternoon.
But now this: at least a foot of wet snow overnight.
All this rainy, rainy summer I’ve been wondering if this trend will continue into the winter. Let’s hope not.
The Hidden Springs Maple Farm Store is almost ready to open. On November 25th (“Black Friday”, the day after Thanksgiving) we will be hosting an Open House and Reception at the Farm Store in Putney. Here is the flyer that we’ve come up with; we’ll be printing these and posting them around town shortly (click on the image for a larger view):
Like most of Vermont, especially southern and central regions, at the Hidden Springs sugarbush we experienced mild winds, and incredible quantities of rain over much of Sunday. Catherine and I went out with Fraser in the middle of it (early Sunday afternoon) to see what we could see. I regret that we only got a few pictures (it was difficult to keep the camera dry and our old digital gets temperamental when it’s damp.)
Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins, plus seasoning time
Makes: 6 to 8 servings
INGREDIENTS
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 pounds chicken wings, separated into drumettes and midsections (or flats), wing tips discarded
1/3 cup Hidden Springs Maple maple syrup (we recommend grade B which has the strongest maple flavor)
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard...
As we in Vermont watch the news of floods and tornadoes, we give thanks that — long winters and the occasional ice storm aside — our weather here tends to be pretty mild. (Of course, as I drove home from a business trip yesterday afternoon I heard actual tornado warnings for north-central Vermont, something I’d never heard before. So far as I know, no tornadoes actually formed, but still…)
But last weekend Catherine and I were at home when we had...
Came back last night after a short time away, and woke up this morning to the sound of a grouse doing his mating “drumming“. (If my clever link doesn’t work for you, try going here and look for the little “play” control.) When I looked out the kitchen window I saw that, miraculously, the last of the snow covering the path into the woods had melted in the recent rains.
So, time to walk the dogs; down through the woods, around the (still mostly...
There’s a poignancy to the end of sugaring. We talked around the dinner table about whether there would be more good sap, whether it was worth boiling again.
Someone remarked how unusual it is to finish sugaring when there’s still snow on the ground.
“Call it!” someone else said. And that, more or less, was it.
There’s lots of clean-up to do, and the urgency is gone. Now the trees are all revisited, taps pulled out of the holes. Equipment is...
We’ve long been of the opinion that maple syrup is not only wonderfully tasty, but is also good for you. This article seems to offer some hard evidence in support of the latter opinion.
Stopped by the sugarhouse last evening (I brought Fra and his “crew” an apple pie I’d baked with some of the last of last year’s Grade B syrup.) They are really hitting their stride — they capped their 77th barrel while I was there, which comes out to just over 2,900 gallons made so far this year (which means they’ve gathered over 116,000 gallons of sap!.) The weather forecast for the next week looks pretty good, too: warm days, below freezing...
