Tag: inspiration

I love when I can begin a NH Maple Weekend with pancakes at the Barrington Fire Department. My camera was being wonky so I don’t have any inside photos.

And then, across from the Fire Department is my friend Josh and Spring Harvest Maple. I think he needs a new sign…

Josh offers a discount to his customers who bring back his glass bottles to be refilled. This pic shows lots of signs of business, although I don’t see any names on these bottles so maybe these are all new..

One of my favorite photos – Every time most sugarmakers start a boil they fill a small jar demonstrating the quality of the syrup at that point in time. There may be a different number of jars each year as weather dictates how long the season is. This represents 132 boils.

When I left Barrington I headed over to the Monadnock Region. I am very frustrated with the NH Maple Producers organization. This weekend I had 20 farms on my list of places that I hoped to visit, all that had the 2025 Maple Weekend logo in the upper right corner of their directory listing. Of this, I found 8 farms open for visitors. I may have driven 200 miles out of my way this weekend 😦

First stop on my list, Fieldstone Farm in Rindge. This is a farm farm with cows and chickens in addition to maple. It also probably has a great reputation as the line for checkout went through the evaporator room into the kitchen.

Just before I went to Fieldstone I passed Maple Row Sugaring. I went back there as my next location even though they were not on my list 😉 This sugarhouse is rather small but their product was quite tasty. It amazes me that these places can be so close to each other but still are able to sell out of syrup with only word-of-mouth. 

Not many runs yet this year but very consistent

Next up, Mighty Maple. Not large by any means but good things come in small packages. 

I loved the large stained glass maple leaf in the window – and the shadow it left on the floor 🙂

Being artistic with a short depth-of-field

Fun logo!

This classic sugarhouse may make it into some of my Alternative Photography. (If you’re interested in such stuff, check out some of my earlier posts on this blog)

As I was trying to leave the U-shaped drive, I had to stop as someone was purchasing at the associated roadside stand. As he was leaving he apologized and said, “I love that he takes Venmo”.

Because I couldn’t count on all the saphouses on my list being open, if I passed a farm I knew was open, I stopped. I saw the sign along 12A as I was heading north and I stopped and was glad I did. This is a fun family sugarhouse with food and picnic tables inside and great products for sale. I really wanted to purchase maple fudge but I controlled myself (this time).

I hadn’t remembered that I had already been to Hillside Sugar Bush Farm. I’m glad I stopped. Last time every one was stressing a little bit because it was not only Maple weekend but also town meeting day. It was town meeting day again but I guess this year it was earlier and it was fun to come and find the whole family there. 

I love their shirts and everyone had one.

I believe this is Jim Lukash. He and I had a fun discussion about how maple challenges one to invent and make do.

I passed by a sign for Beaver Pond Sugarhouse. I stopped but this wasn’t the actual sugarhouse which is located “up on the mountain”. It was a fun farm stand with lots of maple products for sale. I purchased another Maple Soda bottle and contents for my collection.

And last, but not least, time was running short so I didn’t get to all of the places on my map. I cut over to South Sutton and my friends at Meetinghouse Hill Farm sugarhouse. I couldn’t resist this little one in his Carhartts. 

This sugarhouse house is in my “create art from this” list.

Cody Anderson is a mild mannered Kearsarge Regional High School Science teacher by day and…

And Dad is Sr Director of Education for the Forest Society and co-host of “Something Wild” on NHPR.
I’m not usually a fan of tattoos but Dave has the best… if someone forced me, I’d choose tree leaves as well.

Final shot as I was leaving.

And I was blessed by a sweet sunset on the way home. 

Two Taps Sap House was the 5th on my list for Sunday and the first one welcoming visitors.

Not quite the final product but the first step that is actually syrup.

When Grandpa used to sugar, he used wooden pipes for collection. This is one of them.

I couldn’t get a good angle to take a good picture of the end of the pipe so I trusted my camera to do it for me and didn’t realize it failed me. This is the end that was pared down to fit into the next pipe.

And I was blessed with a parting gift.

I believe this was one of the places on my list that was not welcoming guests.

But then I found Morrill’s Sugar Shack in Franklin and it made up for some of the earlier deficits. 

I’m bummed I didn’t get names. Father and son are working this together – I love that. The pusher that the son is using here is from an old coal stove. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone use this tool before. Not only is it great to move around wood and ashes in the fire box but he can easily grab and open both doors at the same time.

This is dad inside the wood shed. He said I had to go outside and see it from there…

And it was well worth the short walk. It is only the firewood that is holding the window and the door. How fun!

And the heart is intentional 💕

After this I headed over to Tilton to Just Maple. The first time I came over here I was mostly curious because I had seen their product for sale at other places. The sugarhouse is not the most picturesque but they do things well here. 

If I followed directions, I would have been led through the tasting room into the gift shop. I would have been told that the sugarbush tours start by the big old maple tree. But I didn’t really want a sugarbush tour today and I walked through the gift shop to the tasting room backwards. I did buy a long-sleeve t-shirt…

Every sugarhouse dog should have a heart on his chest 💕

And another of those sugarhouses that wasn’t open for visitors…

And it was raining at this point.

But by the time I reached Leighton Farms East & West in Sanbornton it had stopped. The sugarhouse was in one location but the East & West referred to the original farm on one side of the road and the newer purchase on the other. This sugarhouse was much taller than most others I have visited. I apologize, I really need to start taking notes again. I don’t remember all the cool stuff I heard about. Leighton Farms is apparently well-known for it’s Bourbon infused syrup. 

And I was again given a parting gift…

And last, but not least, in NH this day I visited Smith Farm in Gilford. I had forgotten that I was here before, and it wasn’t until I walked around the building that I recognized the place. The last time I was here I think there was a zillion other people – this day I had the place to myself. It looks like this house is about 78 years old and is looking pretty good for its age.