I flew in last night to Vermont to catch the maple syrup season.  If it wasn’t for a gentleman that I met in Wisconsin, I would’ve completely missed the sugaring season.  I didn’t have a clue what time of the year sap started to drip.  I flew from Indiana to Burlington, which is the only commercial airport in Vermont.  It was interesting to see that many of the passengers carrying ski boots.  Other than syrup, Vermont is also known for the best skiing in the east, but their mountains are considered hills in the west.  

I arrived to Cabot Hills Maple, which is the place I will live and work.  The owners, Marcia and Ken were already in the process of boiling at 8PM and I had to jump right in to work.  The first thing that I worked on was cleaning the milk truck (storage tank.)  I thought I’d jump right in there, but my legs couldn’t reach the bottom and I was stuck.  Since it was completely dark in Vermont with no light pollution at all, I didn’t realize I was supposed to use a ladder.  I won’t make that mistake again.

The most pleasant surprise about starting work in a sugarhouse was the smell.  After working until midnight, I didn’t want to leave since I was addicted to the smell.  It’s ok though, I’ll probably get to taste it too.

March 29, 2009

Why did you choose this career to represent Vermont?

Vermont versus Canada. Vermont has been the nation\'s largest maple syrup producer and it should have a maple leaf on its flag like Canada. Anyone that eats waffles or pancakes probably uses syrup with them, but in Vermont they use syrup for so much more.