It's Maple Syrup Time!

Report: April 2011

By April we realized that it was time to see different scenery around the province. With no sunshine in sight we thought the least we could do was partake in the annual sap run for that infamous product called maple syrup.

Our reconnaissance took us to an adorable sugar shack about an hour and a half west of Halifax called Sugar Moon Farm. Once we arrived we realized we had found 1600 trees of delicious sugary goodness. They do a tiny tour of how the sugaring process works as well as discuss the best types of trees for the perfect flavor. There is also a pancake shack attached to the facility where we happily consumed whole wheat pancakes, multiple local sausages, baked beans, hot tea, maple butter and of course the maple syrup produced on site. Keep in mind it's early April...but we still were bundled up against the snow that was all around us.

On the mountain road heading up to the farm.

The main sap line running down into the sugar shack.

Our tour guide explaining the boiling process.

They sell a product called Snow Sugar where they reduced their maple syrup down to a candy then pour it into the special troughs.

Once it's poured you have a few seconds to add a popsicle stick to one end of the candy strip before it cools.

Once stick is firmly attached you rolled the candy up and happily consume your very own maple lollipop! Goose and I both got one and it was delicious.

On the way back down the mountain I asked Goose to stop at a yarn store in the Gaspereau Valley (The valley really reminds me of Healdsburg!) that my fellow knitting ladies had recommended. It's the kind of place where you turn into a working sheep farm, park next to a barn and enjoy the rustic interior filled with yarn and a toasty fireplace. Here are a few pics to give you a feel of the place. I've been back with girlfriends since due to the overwhelming charm of it all. Although there was no snow down in the valley it was still pretty cold.

They have around 10 sheep which they will shear for their own brand name wool in June.

Including one llama that is not shy of and seems accustomed to getting treats from people perhaps?

The wool shop attached to the barn.

A typical knitting and wool spinning afternoon.

The local cat that gets to nap where ever it likes.

After catching a bite to eat and heading back to town we ran as many errands as we could with the rental car before calling it a day.

We did celebrate easter by having some See's candy mailed from California and ham was a must for dinner. Although our sleep was disturbed at midnight on Easter Sunday by the Greek Orthodox Church around the corner on Purcells Cove Road. It seems it's a tradition that they light fireworks at the stroke of twelve to celebrate the return of Christ. After 30 minutes of standing in our PJ's by the window watching the show we crawled back into bed wondering what the heck the fireworks were for. We found out from some locals on Monday what the celebration was about. Everything is so green and damp here I guess they figured there's no fear of a fire so why not party His return in style!

The rest of the month was pretty mellow for us. We were both still working, catching coffee dates with friends, a few beers thrown in for good measure, along with some rainy afternoons spent at the library and lots of thoughts drifting back to friends and family back in the States.

Eagle Out