Mud

When it's March in Vermont, things happen.

You might find yourself, one Sunday afternoon,

wandering down a muddy log road

on the way to a special place.

And your daughter runs ahead because

friends are waiting

at the sugarhouse.

It's sugaring season (time to make maple syrup, for those not from these parts) in the north, and  we had a wonderful time at our friends' sugarhouse, which used to be a tiny shack with a wood-fired maple sap evaporator. They used to use four-wheelers (and I assume horses before that) to go through the woods and gather sap and then stay up all night boiling it down into maple syrup.

Times have changed.

The new sugar house is bigger and fits lots of people, an enormous evaporator, a wood cookstove, and lots of computerized equipment that turns a lot of sap into over 500 gallons of maple syrup, which the owner uses in his local diner. No corn syrup/food coloring imitations around here.

These days, high-production sugarers have even abandoned the sap buckets. Not quite as picturesque to see miles of plastic tubing running through the woods, but apparently it does the job better and faster (excuse the overexposure):

There is even a high-tech reverse-osmosis machine that removes some of the water from the sap before it gets into the evaporator, so instead of boiling down what was 2% sugar and 98% water, the process starts with 12% sugar. Now the guys can get home by 11 at night instead of 3 in the morning.

If you have never sat by a woodstove, in the company of wonderful people, and had a sip of freshly boiled warm maple syrup, you need to come to Vermont some springtime. Heaven.

Apparently, mud season is also shearing season, as Sophie and J.J. found out this weekend.

Andy the Traveling Sheep Shearer came and got to work.


Sophie, naked:

J.J. was next, but apparently I don't have any more pictures than these two.

The two sheep didn't recognize each other after, so they squared off in their little barn, one at each end of the room, heads down. The goats (who also got their hoofs trimmed and got vaccinated) stood well out of the way, on window sills and in food troughs, and wondered who these strange animals were and how they got here.

Everyone's happy now.

I'm happy because the sourdough starter I've been struggling with (just flour and water in a jar on the counter) has finally taken off, turning my twice-weekly loaves of brick into real bread:

If you have never tried a sourdough starter, it's a fun little science experiment (Hey kids, let's capture some yeast spores!) that makes fantastic, chewy, flavorful, crusty bread. Except when it makes bricks.

My handspun sweater had another setback. My husband started asking if the body wasn't perhaps a bit wide. Turns out 52" is 4"  more than he needs.

I ripped it out Friday and stated over, but I'm almost back up to where I was. And so it goes.

And yesterday, in case I was suffering from a lack of starchy winter foods (not), I made bagels. Have you tried this? Piece of cake. Make your basic dough (water, flour, yeast, salt, sugar). Knead it. Let it rise. Punch it down and shape into bagels. Boil for a few minutes. You get this:

Then bake.

Then eat. I made 24 and with a house full of teenagers yesterday they were gone by 4:00.

Finally, isn't anyone going to ask when I'm going to update the shop? It's been forever, I know. I have some Real Vermonter roving (in 6-ounce bumps) and a bit of Panda superwash ready to go, but I want to get more dyed. By request, I have lined up some silk/merino (DK weight, I think) that will be hitting the dye counter this week. Taxes are done, bills are paid, school is open, and I'm planning a big week in the shop. Hold on.

Calvin (the bedraggled rooster who is finally looking good and being accepted by the other birds) wishes you a happy, muddy week.

Comments

[CindyCindy]

Fascinating about sugaring season. Unknown around these parts. Love the pictures of the shearing, too. You are definitely a farm girl now. And, the shop update? I can't hear you. I'm covering my ears and singing lalalalalala.

[jackie]

It has been years since I was at a sugar bush. Oh, the sweetness! I really like the super concentrated stuff that they pour on the snow and you roll in a popsicle stick. Can you get any closer to heaven?

The sheep do look very different. It is no wonder that they didn't recognise each other.

[Carol]

I need to move! Happy St. Pat's!

[Jenn]

There is a sugar house in a county park northwest of here, we meant to take a ride up to get some syrup but haven't had a chance.

[Carole]

Those bagels look delicious! So does the sourdough bread. Okay, I'm officially hungry now.

[Andrea (noricum)]

I've tried bagels in the past, but, although the results were edible, they were also never quite right. After several attempts I gave up and went back to pita bread. My bagels did look rather similar to yours, though. Which recipe did you use?

I can't ask about the shop because I'm making myself use up some stash for a bit, to catch up with my purchases. ;) (The stuff in your shop is lovely, though!)

[Elisabeth]

Would love to visit Vermont sometime during sugaring season. Sipping warm maple syrup sounds like heaven!

Poor Sophie and JJ. They must be cold now! Do you have blankets for them? Also, how does the shearer get them to lay down like that? Don't they struggle and try to get up?

Calvin is looking pretty spiffy!

[Kimberly]

Ok, you've inspired me to finally give into my desire for making home made bagels. The dough is currently rising. Thanks

[Helen]

What fun!
How is it my father has lived in Vermont for over 30 years and I've never seen/heard about ANY of this good stuff? (well, except for the mud).
Thanks for sharing that with us!

[Debbie]

OK so the "perfect sourdough loaf" made me want to cry. I've been doing battle all winter with mine. Can't wait for the shop update. Happy St. Pat's

[Bea]

I'm so envious about the sugaring off you guys went to! I wish we had the climate for sugar maples here in the south, I love some good maple syrup! So, what are you going to do with Sophie and JJ's wool? And those bagels look so delicious, I bet they are amazing with cream cheese and ....maple syrup!

[Susan B]

When my brother and I briefly lived in Botswana (Africa) he and I longed (LONGED!) for bagels. So we started making our own, and decided that our absolute favorite recipe was when we took the basic recipe and added anywhere from 2 Tbsp to 1/4 of a cup of creamy peanut butter to the dough.

YUM.

[heide]

I can't even begin to imagine how wonderful the sugar house smelled. What a neat experience. Oooh, poor nekid sheepses.

[lisa]

drooling... droooling. Love fresh syrup, even if it isn't totally boiled down yet. Hmmm, this sunday is sugar maple syrup sunday, and some of the sugarers have open house... guess I'll be tromping around.

[Leigh]

Very interesting post. I'm very impressed that you got your sour dough bread to rise! I never had that kind of luck. I have made bagels before, but your photos look so mouth watering that I'll have to make them again.

[Cynthia]

Fresh maple syrup...drool! But let's talk about barnyard animals. Loved the sheep being shorn, and the rooster is good too, but what about MILO???? I realize he doesn't live in the yard now but a girl needs her regular Milo fix!!

[marianne]

Lucky you get someone to come and shear just 2 sheep, ! We hate to keep imposing on our former 4-h leader,so now are learning to do our 2 sheep ourselves, but that means second cuts in the fleece.

[Susan]

Oh how lucky you are! I'm not sure that I've ever tasted for real maple syrup. If I did it was when I was really small.

[Sylvia]

Your sourdough looks gorgeous! I brought my starter down from its >year-long berth in the back of the other frig and fed it a little bit of flour (King Arthur) and a few grains of yeast, then stuck it in a cupboard with some empty-ish wine bottles (unfiltered red) and a dish of yeast in water. Fingers crossed, but so far so good. Hope it gets its bounce back -- your loaf looks so wonderful!

[Beate]

I love Vermont maple sirup!Stil have a bottle bought when we visited last August.. Woodstock area.
What a beatiful mix of pictures and stories..
happy knitting easter.

[Cynthia]

Mr. C turned down a second interview in VT and it nearly killed us both to say goodbye to the dream for a few years. Among other things I so badly want to see maple sugaring!

At least mud = the start of Spring.

[Beth]

So evocative! I grew up in Nova Scotia (now live in London, UK) where sugaring off was a regular event in the spring calendar. It's so interesting - I just randomly picked a new blog to visit off Flowerpot days and I found this which means so much to me.

[Flowerpot]

Great pictures Jessie - I presume you are a friend of shelagh's. give her my love!

[Sylvia]

Did you see Dalis' post about maple syrup? Dancingleaffarm, blogspot, March 9th.

[lynne s of oz]

You've been busy!
Until now I didn't know much about sugaring season (little house on the prairie books?) and now I know more! Heh. The mud sorta puts me off.

[Kim]

Maple sugaring and bagels....yum! I am looking forward to trying the bagels and always enjoy Spring syrup!

[JessaLu]

oh boy do I hate mud season. My Kitchen floor is perpetually covered in filth this time of year. ugh.

Thanks for the glimpse into the sugaring process! :o)