The Sugar Shack

“A sap-run is the sweet good-bye of winter. It is the fruit of the equal marriage of the sun and frost.” -- John Burroughs, Signs and Seasons, 1886

At almost 60 degrees, last Saturday brought a much-needed respite from our frigid February temperatures. I decided to take advantage of the day and visit Clough Valley Maple Syrup, about half a mile down the road from my neighborhood.  I love that, although I live in a suburb, I can easily feel like I am in the country.

I showed up with my camera and started talking to the family who makes the syrup. I find that if you show up with a camera, a smile, and an upbeat attitude, most people are more than willing to talk to you and let you take pictures. The Motz family is one of the oldest families in our area, and has been making maple syrup for many years. I'm not a huge fan of maple syrup, but this is absolutely wonderful.

The Sugar Shack on Clough Pike, with several generations of the Motz family and their dogs enjoying the warm February day.

They tap the maple trees on the hillsides across the creek, using over five miles of tubing to tap over 500 trees.

Bart Motz skims foam from the evaporator pans.  Bart also drives an ice cream truck and raises chickens. In addition, he is responsible for the infamous raccoon-eating snowman  http://boingboing.net/2014/01/30/frosty-eats-raccoon-the-story.html

Whenever you see steam coming out of the roof vents, you know they are cooking syrup, and are welcome to stop by. Maple syrup production generally runs from February through early March. However, with the extreme cold this winter, the sap hasn't been running like usual.

A few members of the family were happy to pose for a picture.

I loved the look of this sheaf of tobacco hanging in the doorway, in front of an old potbelly stove.

The finished product sits on shelves in front of the window. It is also sold in several local businesses and can be purchased online.  For more information, contact http://www.cloughvalley.com 

Iowa in Winter

"Come and see, come dance with me,
To the beautiful Iowa Waltz" -- Greg Brown

I was getting itchy to visit my 91-year-old father, as I hadn't seen him since last summer. Since September my life has revolved around breast cancer diagnosis, surgery, and chemotherapy. But I was feeling good in February, so I took off on a solo road trip to Iowa. What a special time with my dad! The weather, however, was epic, even for the Midwest. Snow, blow, and cold! But one day while he was napping I did one of my favorite things: driving around country roads taking photos of whatever catches my eye.

Iowa has a quiet and subtle beauty in any season. Even though I haven't lived there for many years, I still feel connected to the land, and love getting out to appreciate it.

This farm is on Utica Ridge Road, near my dad's retirement village. I love the mosaic brick work on the silo. You don't see many like it.

When I was done taking the photo of the mosaic silo, I turned around and saw another nice barn/silo combination in the farm yard across the road where I had parked. I liked the textures in this scene, with the bare tree leaning over the old barn.

This gravel road was much steeper than it appears here. It was such a euphoric feeling to be all alone in the middle of nowhere on this glorious winter day!

This old barbed wire fence just called out to be photographed. It was so cold and windy on the top of this hill, but I loved the fence and weeds, with the farm fields beyond.

I came across this vista as I rounded the curve of a gravel road. This part of Iowa is hillier than people realize, and I loved this farm nestled down under the hill.

I like the swirls that the drifting snow created in the foreground of this old barn scene.

I have to admit I have no idea what this farm implement is for, but it struck me as sculpture-like; flowers or a peacock.

I badly wanted to get up close to this farm, so I stopped by and bought two dozen eggs and some jam, then asked the farmer if I could take some pictures. He said sure, just watch out for the Great Pyrenees dogs. As seen above and below, the biggest one was the same size and shape as the sheep he guarded!

This wooly guardian did his job and kept his eye on me.

I loved these three sheep. They seemed such good friends, and I think they were talking about me...

I have dogs and they live inside with me, so it is interesting to see dogs doing what they were actually bred to do. They didn't seem to mind that it was three degrees out. But my fingers did!

My last stop before returning to the warmth of my dad's apartment was to photograph this lone set of tracks across the farm field. I love all the different shades of blue and purple that snow can have.

It felt so good to get out, and although my fingers and camera were quite chilled, I had reconnected with the country I grew up in.