Sweet Sunday

This afternoon I went over to the Sugar Shack to take a few pictures. Thanks to their Facebook page, I knew they'd be boiling today; in fact, it was likely the last weekend they'll be boiling this year. As always, walking up and seeing the steam pouring out of the building was a happy moment:

Rather than a wood-burning machine, they're now using an oil-burning evaporator, which allows them to be much more productive while going through a lot less fuel:

I wish there was some way to somehow attach the amazingly sweet smell of the steam coming off the evaporator—there's nothing else like it on earth:

Drawing off some syrup:

Getting ready to test the liquid's specific gravity with a hydrometer

They also use a new filtration system that sends the syrup through a series of chambers:

The sweet result. Trust me—if you've never tasted fresh maple syrup, especially when it's still warm from the machine, you're missing out on one of life's purest pleasures: