New England Sugar Houses & Farms Scenes
This article is written at a time when the fall colors in New England were just a memory or a dream to come. Today we will look at sugar houses and farms in winter.
New England Sugar Houses
At this time of the year, two of my favorite things are Sugar Houses and the Maple products that come from them.
It’s the Winter heading to spring season when the days start to warm up (above freezing) and the mud is all over our cars that maple sugaring usually starts to happen. The farm roads can be tough to manage but the upside is that depending on where in New England you are, the sap is starting to flow and we have sugar houses as subjects for our cameras.
The Vermont Maple Coop has info on their website for farms doing Agritourism and you can go to their Facebook page to see if there are any listings of sugar shacks you can go.
Also, remember one thing, those sugar houses are surrounded by maple trees, and while they may or may not look like much right now (January as I write this). In about 7 months, they can look like this…
How to collect Maple Sap
This is not a real “how-to” but there are many ways to collect maple sap in your own backyard. Here is a YouTube video on how the Vermont Maple Guild does it.
OH! If you think you need some of those nifty aluminum buckets to collect your sap in, anything will work, as you can see below, my Father-in-Law used a mason jar. Also, you can see the DIY crowd sometimes uses 5-gallon hardware buckets to collect their maple sap. No matter what you use, it will work.
It’ll be a while before we see buds but we are watching the temperatures. When the daytime temps rise to about 40F and the nights drop back to below freezing then that signals the trees to start pushing the sap from the roots to the upper branches. You also can drink it straight from the tree… The sap is pure water that is just a little sweet. I tried buying a can of what was supposed to be pure maple sap and it was horrible. Trust me fresh from the tree is great!
Scenic Farms and Barns in Winter
Most will say it’s just mud season and if the snow is not covering everything then it’s not very pretty. I will have to agree because if a farm is covered in a blanket of white, it is then postcard-worthy. It’s much harder to find a pleasing view when it’s all mud-covered.
To me, if you can use your creativity in what is termed “a very ugly season” then you should be able to create some memorable images. I also think that by practicing composition during winter, you should be able to find wonderful scenic images in the blandest of subjects.
When I have time, I like to get off the main roads and onto the back roads… (Sound familiar?) Head out to the farms where they are sugaring. How do you tell if someone is sugaring? Look for the big plumes of steam and you probably have a sugar house just down the road.
Sometimes just getting out is enough. It clears our heads and allows us to think and see objects, places, and scenes in new ways. The light is always changing and that means being aware of that fact will provide opportunities for creating images that are different.
Mud Season
Most of us (myself included) are staying close to home, avoiding crowds, and with January’s cold temps, I’ve only been going out for firewood and to fill the bird feeders. But in the next month or so as the weather starts to warm a tad I’m sure we’ll all (safely) begin to head outside and record this Winter/spring. I will of course share my finds on my Facebook page (link below).
I hope you get out and enjoy this ever-so-sweet season that is full of possibilities…
Jeff Foliage Folger
Autumn is a state of mind more than a time of year – Jeff Foliage
- Visit my Fine Art America Gallery
- Visit my Amazon store to pick up New England-related materials
- Visit my Pictorem Gallery (Free shipping in the US and Canada)
- My Facebook foliage page
- Threads.net/@Jeff_Foliage
- Follow our new Fall Foliage FB Group!
- You can visit Lisa’s Artist Facebook Page by clicking here
I loved reading about maple syrup season approaching in New England! Thank you for the pictures as well. Fall may be my favorite, but the beauty of every season is captured in your photos!
Thank you Mary. I always love to get out and find some beauty in any season.
I loved reading about maple syrup season approaching in New England! Thank you for the pictures as well. Fall may be my favorite, but the beauty of every season is captured in your photos!
Thank you Mary. I always love to get out and find some beauty in any season.