Wow what a weekend!!  Saturday was cold and snowy but we had plenty of folks who were undeterred and came out for Maple Weekend and of course their annual Maple Ice Cream Sundae.  Sunday was sunny and the crowds didn’t stop all day.  Unfortunately due to the high turnout of visitors we ran out of packaged syrup about 2pm.  So sorry to those who came and left empty-handed.  We will hopefully have plenty of everything on hand again this weekend.  We made our first batch of fresh maple cream today.  Brian collected sap all morning and is boiling it all down so we can make plenty more syrup too.

Thank you to all our visitors old and new who make this so enjoyable for us.  And we can’t ever make it through Maple Weekend without the support and help from our family.  Mom, Terry, Kaiya, Lynn, Megan, Steve, Tyler & Kristy all help make it happen. Our deepest thanks and love as always for all you do for us.

NH Maple Weekend Open House

March 28th & 29th 10 AM to 5PM

Once again we look forward to welcoming visitors to our sugarhouse for NH Maple Weekend.  The “tours” we offer are in the sugarhouse.  Brian goes over the maple production process from start to finish over and over all day long.  So if you come in part way through just wait a bit and he’ll come back to the beginning.  Questions are always welcome anytime.  There are trees tapped close by to check out too both in the yard and down a short path.

In the store we’ll have a variety of samples of maple products to taste and buy.  And it would not be Maple Weekend without Maple Ice Cream Sundaes.  Those will be on sale too  ($2.00 ea) with your choice of maple walnut ice cream from Blake’s Creamery (made with real maple syrup) or vanilla ice cream for those who’d prefer that, topped with our own fresh maple syrup and real whipped cream.

As always we’ll have a special table set up with some handouts for the adults and kids in the crowd as take-aways from your visit (while supplies last).

Crowds can be expected so please try to park only on the right hand side of Candia Road or on Sheep Wash Road a short walk before you get to our place.  The driveway and parking area are dirt and with snow still on the ground, proper footwear is encouraged.

 We accept the following:  Master Card, Discover & Visa

Sorry  - No Rest Rooms so plan accordingly

Maple Taffy

Happy St. Patrick’s Day.  Thanks to the change to daylight savings time Brian was able to collect up to 6:30 tonight.  So he’ll have sap to boil all day tomorrow.  Starting this weekend we’ll have our famous Maple Cream Cones available.  They are 1.50 each or a box of 6 for 8.00.  We have also made some maple taffy in both 8 oz and 5 oz jars.  Those are 8.00 and 6.00 respectively.  We try to make enough to have on hand but due to increasing demand we can run out.  Place an order and we’ll  set some aside so you can be sure to get yours.

Maple Cream Cones
1.50 ea

This week we finally had our first boil.  Wednesday was practically balmy and Brian was able to collect enough sap to get the pans sweetened.  No syrup made but next boil we will.  Spoke to a few other sugar makers today who also had their first boil on Wednesday so the season is getting in gear for sure.

This weekend was a bit of fun having some sugar-on-snow for folks who dropped in.  It’s always great to hear those childhood reminiscences from folks who remember having it themselves as kids and then being able to share it with a new generation.  The weather is just what we need to get things loosened up for sap to start running at last.  But we still need another day or so for it to really break free from the freeze. Wednesday looks like the optimal day.  Lets hope so.

We’ll be open this coming Saturday and Sunday from 12pm to 4pm doing sugar-on-snow for those who stop in for a visit.  Hope to see you then.

   Brian has kept busy with all the pre-season prep that goes on.  The evaporator’s been washed and arch repainted.  All the gathering and sap storage tanks have been scrubbed to a gleam as well.  Here’s a view from the inside looking out of the 500 gallon sap tank.  

 The floors are washed and a few maple leaf patches have been applied to some knot holes to keep the drafts down to a minimum.