Maple Festival

The Map Man took J to the Hebron Maple Festival this afternoon. We had planned on going as a family, but Zoo Boy wasn't feeling up to snuff today, so he and I wound up missing the fun.

Fun festival from the looks of things -- many of the town businesses had booths set up to sample various maple products and/or with activities for the kids. And the Sugar Houses in town were open for tours and activities as well.

The Man did good with the camera, and captured much of the fun to share. In this first photo, J poses in front of the Hebron, CT, town sign with his Maple cotton candy. Yum!


Sugar-on-snow, a New England tradition -- you drizzle hot maple syrup over snow (or in this case, shaved ice), where it makes a stretchy, sticky candy treat. This was what J was most looking forward to trying at the festival -- he was pretty disappointed that our last snowfall disappeared before we had a chance to make this at home. He keeps hoping we'll get just one more snowstorm before winter ends so we can try it. (Can't say I'm hoping the same thing....not that I object to sugar-on-snow!)

J pounds a square peg through a peg mill, which rounds off the edges, at a woodworking shop which had the kids making peg coat racks and wooden tool boxes. J's pretty happy to have his own tool box for his woodworking tools now.

J pets a Holstein calf at one of the farms in town that produces milk for The Farmer's Cow (a New England-based dairy company) in addition to operating a sugar shack.

J poses with the big purchase of the day -- a quart of maple syrup and a package of maple sugar candy -- in front of a display of chain-saw art outside one of the sugar shacks in town.

J by the boiling vat inside one of the sugar shacks.

Looks like they had fun -- hopefully we'll all be able to go next year. In the meantime, they did bring home the maple sugar candy and half of their maple cake to share with those of us stuck at home.