Maple Sugar time

My last day of “freedom” until Saturday. My photo class starts tomorrow and I will be fully occupied for the rest of the week.

Fall has arrived. We threw on a blanket last night and set the heater thermostat. It didn’t run continuously so it wasn’t that cold but it did cycle regularly so I know we were in the low 40’s – possibly even in the high 30’s. I’ll ask the locals who know the facts and figures. The Weather Channel on TV shows weather for Montpelier, but it is in a valley while we’re on a hill. Not a big hill – elevation here is about 1,600 feet – but definitely not a valley.

Yesterday (Sunday) was a busy day. We started off with our “weekly” Wal-Mart run. Margaret needed a prescription refilled. That was more difficult than it should have been. Some kind of computer glitch in Fernandina Beach Wal-Mart wouldn’t allow the local pharmacist to access the prescription history. He ended up on the phone with the Florida store to get it straightened out. When he finished, we had an nice conversation with him. He was Canadian, from Quebec, working in the USA. I asked if there was no need for pharmacist in Canada. His response, No, there is a health care crisis in both countries and pharmacists are desparately needed in both places. Although he never said, I would guess the pay was better here?

The pharmacist said he’d been to Florida by bus, plane, train, and driving. He loved it there. His first encounter with a Florida winter was fun. He was staying with friends. They asked if he wanted a portable heater for his room. He said, no, he was a Canadian and used to cold weather. He was also a “tough guy” (his quote). He about froze to death; said he’d never been so cold. So the next night he used the heater.

While in the shopping center, we picked up a light jacket for Margaret (not Wal-Mart; JC Penney). In the confusion of getting out of Florida (and in the heat), Margaret neglected to bring any cool weather gear.

Our campground has a number of seasonal residents (snow-birds), several of whom grew up in this area and know each other. They have befriended us and want to include us in their activities. Yesterday afternoon we went for Sugar On Snow at Morse Maple Sugar farm just north of Montpelier. There were a dozen of us. Everyone else had grown up eating Sugar On Snow – we Floridians had no idea what to expect.

They take regular maple syrup – the kind you’d use on pancakes – and cook it further at 234 degrees until it is thicker. A small bowl is filled with snow – but in the summer they used shaved ice, sort of like a snow cone. You pour the maple syrup onto the ice in a thin drizzle. It doesn’t soak in (unlike a snow cone). Instead, it congeals(?) and you pick it up with a flat stick and twirl it round the stick and pop it in your mouth. They served it with do-nut holes, coffee, and dill pickle slices (to cut the sweet). It sounds weird, but everyone loved it and had seconds, thirds, until I lost count. Margaret loved it too, but stopped after two servings. A couple of the photos will show the group and the appearance.

In addition to the tasting, there was the usual gift shop stuff and a working maple syrup “farm” showing the tools and processes of olden days. We could have spent more time there getting some of the photo ops, but the group was ready to leave. We may go back if we have time. I’ll let Margaret add some thoughts and observations either today or in a later posting.

Today, we plan to visit the Rock of Ages granite quarry. We’ve hear a lot of stories about its size and facts / figures, but we’ll report on that after we’ve been there. It’s close by. In fact, the village the campground is in is Graniteville, VT. There are several granite processing / carving operations in the area. There is a cemetery (surprise?) that is reported to have some of the most spectacular / unusual tombstones around. Margaret is going there this week and give us a report.