It took us forever to get ourselves to Journey's End Farm this year, but we made it. They were boiling late into the night which was a new experience for us. Usually we manage to get there during the daylight hours when we can wander around the sugarbush, chase the chickens and watch the fragrant steam rise from the roof of the sugar shack. Instead, we were wrapped in the dark warmth--dry, smokey and sticky sweet. They're all wood powered and the family has been making syrup since 1934.
Oh, yes, that is a maple candy frog. Kristin, the owner, makes sure to have quite a few of those on hand for our little bear. They are his favorites! When we climbed back into our car, Rowan was out in about 3.3 seconds (probably a sugar-induced coma from the six maple candies his father kept handing out), but the smell of maple steam and wood smoke was woven in my hair and followed us all the way home.
