In a nice coincidences of exhibitions, the Portsmouth Museum of Art and the Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine College of Art in Portland are currently featuring shows in which contemporary artists use 21st century technologies to wonderful aesthetic effect. In iImage: The Uncommon Portrait (through April 24), the Portsmouth Museum of Art presents yet […]
Welcome to the March 2011 edition of “Jud’s New England Journal,” the rather curious monthly musings of Judson Hale, editor-in-chief of Yankee Magazine, published since 1935 in Dublin, New Hampshire. Clam Chowder: New England vs. Manhattan This is one controversy that’ll never fade … Of all New England dishes, clam chowder probably evokes the strongest […]
I always watch the Oscars and it usually gets me to thinking about Georgia at this time of year. My parents made an annual pilgrimage there to a place called St. Simons Island. They rented a place where they sat out the months of March and April in that sun-drenched place before reluctantly returning to […]
Monday It’s holiday vacation week. Vacation week means a flood of action for us patrollers. There was rarely a dull moment today, and the voices on the radio were continuous, sometimes unsettled, and symbolic of a different atmosphere for the mountain. Mid-week days bring fewer people, and thus fewer chances for incidents. There are accidents, […]
Syrup reaches the right sugar concentration when it’s boiling at 7° above its initial boiling point, which in most areas is 212° F. For small batches, Morse advises, head indoors to finish it off. Pour it into a large pot and crank up your kitchen stove, making sure the syrup’s at least an inch deep […]
To decipher whether your syrup is almost done boiling, stick a clean straightedge into your pan–a wide knife, say–then lift it out. If the liquid doesn’t drip but instead rolls off in a sheet, you’re ready for the final stage.
Keep a good book nearby; learn to whittle; turn on the radio. Why? Sugaring introduces a lot of downtime. “My dad would start smoking, and I’d find gum wrappers all over the sugarhouse,” says Morse. “One time I accused him of being bored. He didn’t want to admit it. Finally, he just said, ‘Well, it’s […]
The hotter the fire, the better, says Morse, who recommends soft-wood slabs to feed the flames. “Simmering is not a friend of maple syrup,” he notes. When the sap threatens to boil over, throw in a pat of butter to calm the froth.
Reduce boiling time by sticking your sap in a freezer, long enough so that its outer edges begin to freeze solid. The solid stuff is excess water; what remains is the sweet stuff you want. “You often average 2 percent sap, but this way you might be able to get it up to 4 or […]
You don’t need those postcard-perfect (and expensive) metal buckets to collect your sap. Morse says plastic milk jugs serve the same purpose. Just drill a small hole into the side opposite the handle to hang the jug; when it’s filled, you’ll have something to grab. Other low-cost items: retired five-gallon buckets for sap collection, used […]
You’ll never suck enough sap from a tree to kill it, but you can injure it if you don’t vary your drill spots each year. Morse is a big fan of steel health spouts, which slip into holes drilled with a 5/16th-inch bit; you can pick them up at supply stores such as Bascom Maple […]
Monday The snowballs were quite epic today. You see, it was just warm enough to create perfect snowball conditions, and yet maintain a nice soft snow surface to ski upon whilst having a downhill snowball fight. Hypothetically, that is. I would not be playing with snowballs while performing my duties as a patroller. Well, at […]
