3. 27.17 We survived the dumping of Winter Storm Stella two weeks ago – about 30 inches; and the cold and continued snowy weather since then. Spring is nowhere in sight here in the North Country! Despite the whims of Mother Nature, this weekend was Vermont Maple Open House Weekend, an annual event when sugarhouse across the state open their doors to share their operations and samples of sweet treats, even when it’s too cold and the sap is not running! I headed up to Runamok Maple in Cambridge, to taste their new line of infused maple syrups. As mentioned in a previous post, Squabetty trees are tapped by Runamok. Because this operation is huge – 81,000 trees tapped, producing 2 million gallons of sap – there is no quaint sugarhouse with steam escaping from the vents in the roof. Instead, it’s a technologically advanced system of tanks, tubes and machines. Regardless, the end result is a fine thing – delicious, sweetness right from the land. The infused syrups are a treat for the palate. For more info on Runamok’s operations, see their website: http://runamokmaple.com/. There’s something to be said about eating food from your own land. On long walks in the woods, I hug the trees and thank them for their sweetness.
