It’s a March morning, severe clear, a lovely cerulean blue sky, temperature just above freezing, the red buds of the sugar maples just emerging, and the sap’s starting to flow at sugarbushes all over New York and New England. That means it’s time for work and celebration, as the crop looks extraordinarily good this year.
We enjoyed a pancake breakfast at the Shaver-Hill farm in Harpersfield, NY. In attendence were: New York State’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Patrick Hooker, andthe New York State Maple Producer’s Association President, Mary Jean Packer. Hundreds of other maple-lovers also turned out. We enjoyed the cakes, home made sausage and applesauce, and then we got to work shooting the “Maple” segment of Catskill Mountain Showcase.
Here are a few stills from the raw footage. You-Tube clip will follow in a week or so.
Roll em’, Harvey.
DR
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker checks sap flow….
Commissioner Hooker and maple farmer Dwayne Hill enjoying a joke….
The Percherons are hitched and waiting to haul visitors…
The flow off the evaporator is a gallon per minute — steaming hot syrup…
Here’s the finished product flowing into stainless 55-gallon drums..
This young lady is making maple cotton candy. Note her safety glasses–that syrup is hot and a drop or two sometimes flies out of the rapidly rotating candy machine…
