March 12th Rowies birthday, Happy Birthday Rowie!!

For Rowies birthday we decided to do a local trip, in fact only 15 minutes away, and check out a sugar shack. A sugar shack is where they make maple syrup. The maple sap suitable for making the syrup only runs at the start of spring when weather conditions, mainly temperature, are right so it is now or not at all.

The farm also served a brunch so it was decided to take advantage of that. On arriving at the farm, Proulx Farm, we were transported to the sugar shack and the location of the brunch by wagon. It was meant to be horse drawn but we were there a bit early so it was tractor propelled. No matter, we entered the dinning hall, very rustic, and were confronted with a buffet style cooked brunch. No continental stuff here! Home made soup, sausages, ham, bacon, pancakes, beans, eggs, hash browns, carrots and jugs of ....yep....hot maple syrup all washed down with juice and coffee. Not exactly Hotel Sofitel presentation but well cooked and plenty of it and enjoyable too.

It was then out to explore the farm and view the collection systems and how they have changed over the years, the evaporation process, now all stainless steel and mechanised but still the same basic process. The maple sap is brought to the evaporator and reduced to produce the syrup. The maple sap is reduced from approx 40 litres of sap to produce 1 litre of maple syrup. The trees produce sap all year round obviously, but it is the early spring run of sap that is the sweetest and the only sap they make maple syrup from. To get the sweet sap to run there needs to be cold nights and warm days so spring is the only time this series of climatic and seasonal events coincide.

One of the delicacies enjoyed here is maple taffy, hot maple syrup is run onto snow and when it starts to solidify it is rolled onto a stick and eaten. Quite sweet but very edible, yum!

After an enjoyable and informative morning it was time to find the wagon, horse attached this time, and head for the car and home.

Rowie enjoyed her birthday treat.