505 South Road, Ashby MA 01431
978.386.6823
This year, we ended up at South Village Sugarhouse in Ashby MA. After inadvertently taking the scenic route (somehow, I had plugged the wrong address into Google Maps), we finally made it here at dusk. We were greeted warmly by Dave Rainville, who took us out behind the sugarhouse so Talia could see a dripping tap in the fading daylight. Having recently seen a Curious George episode where George makes maple syrup, she thought it was very exciting to see the real thing.
Dave walked us through the process and explained his set up, as we watched the sap boil away in the wood-fired evaporator. In the photo above, he is showing us all the minerals, etc., that settle out of the syrup and get filtered out before bottling.
It was lucky that we ended up getting there later than we had planned, as the batch he was working on was just about finished. Here's Dave pouring out samples for us to try. We bought a couple of quarts to bring home and replenish our dwindling maple syrup supplies.
Sweet and delicious! Someone was not in the mood for having her picture taken, but I couldn't help myself.
Here's the evaporator boiling away.
If only I had a fancy camera, this picture would have been amazing--the view of the sugarhouse as we left in the dark, with sparks flying out of the chimney as logs were tossed onto the fire. You'll just have to use your imagination. Or, better yet, stop in for a visit yourself.
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