An old homestead showed signs of continued care, even if no one lives here.
Ah! The sign on the building told me whose place this was--Elmer the maple syrup man! This must be his sugar shack. As far as I know, he is the only person in our county who still makes maple syrup. I was fortunate enough to be given a small amount of Elmer's syrup by my son a few years ago, and it was delicious. When I first moved to Jackson County, I tried my hand at tapping trees for a few years. But though I trekked to my trees to collect sap every day and boiled it down carefully, I never got more than a few ounces for all my work. Elmer, it seems, has the secret knowledge I lacked.
An icy waterfall to the side of the road attested to the day's temperatures.
Old barns graced a meadow and hillside near the end of the road.
And finally, where Peniel Road exits onto US Rte 33. The yellow building on the right is the general store at Peniel, which proudly proclaims itself as "the best little general store in Peniel." Of course, it's the only general store in Peniel...
Liked your pictures, Susanne.
ReplyDeleteI love Jackson county. When I was 12 we lived out near Kenna for a year and I was so happy. I drove past our old farm a couple of years ago and there's a waste treatment plant just around the curve from it and the present owners had completely torn down our old dairy and one of the barns. It's a beautiful area to live in over there. You are so lucky..
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely charming. I love your photos. You have such a warm way with you words and writing, Sue. I get a very peaceful feeling every time I visit your blog. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBW
I remember how I got the bright idea to boil down some maple water into syrup. I tapped several maple tree's on our hillside. I got about 2 gallons of water, and boiled it down on the stove. In the end, I got just over a couple of tablespoons of syrup, but had a nice sticky film all over the kitchen walls!! Mom was about ready to kill me!
ReplyDeleteYou ought to give it another try this year, Susanna. Alot of the sap depends on the weather. Cold weather followed by a slight warm-up will give you a better quality sap, hence it will take less boiling away to get syrup. Have a maple syrup making party!! Hummmmm. Am I giving you idea's???lol.