My Humble Jumble: Maine Maple Sunday

We were in our local warehouse store a couple of weeks back. Since I've related to you before that I have a hard time making decisions, it shouldn't come as a surprise that I couldn't make up my mind whether to buy a quart of maple syrup or wait a little longer. We were running low, but weren't in crisis yet. So I waited. Then it happened, I used the last drop.

That was about three weeks ago. Maine Maple Sunday this year wasn't until March 24 this year. So I was really anticipating going to one of our local farms to get some. The big day arrived and we went to pick up our grandson, Alex, to go along. We got to the Bacon Farm in Sidney, Maine on a typical windy March day with a little bite to it. The last time we visited this farm was probably seven years ago, and we were surprised to see how much they had expanded their operation. We were pretty surprised that we had to wait almost 30 minutes in line to get in the door too, but it was worth it. The closer we got to the sugar house the more intense the maple fragrance was. As we walked through the door, the steamy warmth from the cookers enveloped us. The line circled around the room past the maple sugar demo area right to, yes, a table where a man scooped vanilla ice cream into little dishes and a woman poured fresh maple syrup over them. That was my next target! We all agreed it tasted awesome and continued on past the people who were spinning fresh maple cotton candy through the door into my next target area - the shop. Stocked full of all sizes and shapes of maple syrup containers I picked up a half gallon so I wouldn't have another crisis too soon. Alex chose a maple whoopie pie and bag of maple candy. I have to admit I couldn't resist taking a couple of whoopie pies for me and gramps too.

We wandered through the crowd taking in the sights of the tapped trees, barns and fields and a couple of ducks skating on the last remnants of ice in the farm pond. Back in the truck we all agreed it was a great way to spend a couple of hours and headed home.

I'm so glad I didn't pick up that maple syrup at the warehouse club. Lesson learned - buy local!