Living in New England: Sugar Shacks

My people hail from the South. 
No one from my family has come up to visit since we have lived here (please feel free to reprimand them in the comments;)  In fact, none of my immediate family has ever even been to New England... ever!  Often when I write I "try" to give my Southern peeps a little glimpse into what our life is like here, but as I say in my intro on the sidebar...
 If you've never been to New England I cannot describe it with adequate words, you really just have to experience it!

There are many aspects of life here that are so unique from other parts of the country, and I want to share those things with my family, and perhaps with you- if you have never been here.   I thought it might be helpful to do some posts called : Living in New England that highlight quintessential New England sights, events, situations, and experiences.   

I also know of many people who have lived here, in New England, their entire lives and perhaps don't realize that some of the events and sights that I will describe don't happen elsewhere in the country.  Or, maybe you are originally from New England, but have moved away... I hope these posts will bring back some fond memories for you.  
In any event I wish to share New England with you through the eyes of this Southerner.

Sugar Shacks
It is sugar season here in New England! This event happens once a year in early Spring when the maple trees are tapped for their sap, the sap is collected and taken to a Sugar Shack to be boiled down and made into the delectable liquid gold called maple syrup!
Sugar season lasts 4 to 6 weeks depending on the weather.  The perfect weather for getting the most sap from the maples is to have temperatures freezing (preferably 25 degrees) at night and 45-50 degrees during the day.



There are several methods commonly seen here to "tap" the trees.  This is my favorite, the old fashioned way- where metal buckets are placed on the tree.

Or, you can use plastic milk containers.

If you have a lot of trees to tap you would use the pvc tubes (here in blue, black and white).

The tubes empty into the large tub.

This Sugar Shack is in a small town near us.   Last year they tapped 7,200 trees in our area.  Each tree has only 1 to 2 taps so as to not harm the tree.  During the season they haul in 10,000 gallons of sap per day, and they burn 50 cords of wood for the season.
It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup!

Sugar season also coincides with "mud" season in New England.  This is why you need "mud" boots and a "mud" room here- which for my southern peeps is a room where you remove said "mud" boots before entering the house!

The Sugar Shack is open all year.  Please take note of the metal box on the counter on the right.  The shack is on the "honor-system."  You leave the money in the box.  We did not have the "honor-system" in Dallas:)

The huge boiler where the sap is made into the delicious syrup.  The sap must be boiled within approximately 8 hours of it being taken from the tree or it will go bad.  The sap is boiled to 218 degrees which turns it into syrup.

It depends on the time of the year as to which grade of syrup is our favorite.  Right now we really like the Grade A, but as the season progresses we like the taste of Grade B best.

And speaking of maple syrup.....remember this young girl who became an orphan when I stole the antique gilt frame that I found her in to use for a different piece of art?  Well.... she has a very happy ending.  She was adopted by the lovely, talented and oh-so-funny Linda at Lime in the Coconut!   Seems Ingrid took a liking to pure maple syrup during her time here in New England and she packed some in her knapsack (along with her scarf collection) before heading to Florida.  The gracious hostess Linda made Ingrid some Crunchy Coconut French Toast upon her arrival.   The recipe (do not miss this recipe) is here!
Don't you think Ingrid looks so much happier in Florida?! 

photo: Lime in the Coconut



That made me think that maybe YOU, too, might like a little New Hampshire Pure Maple Syrup!! 
So, today when I picked up a quart for us at the Sugar Shack I also picked up an extra quart to give away to one of you!  This syrup was boiled just this week!
For your chance to receive the sweet liquid gold,  just leave a comment on this post about your favorite way to enjoy maple syrup, or your favorite recipe that includes maple syrup, or how you would use the maple syrup if it arrives at your door, or if you have any favorite memories of Sugar Shacks, or if you've never had pure maple syrup, or your reprimand for "my people";), or.......  you can just leave any comment!!  Please be sure to include contact information if you post as anonymous.
Enter once up until 8pm EDT on Friday, April 1 !

did I mention that they give samples of maple syrup over vanilla ice cream at the Sugar Shack?!
soooooooo good!

Phase II: the Loft

In our current Phase II of the farmhouse renovation I've already written about the barn room and the loft and storage rooms.  In this post I'll focus on the remaining portion of the barn:  the Loft. 
As previously mentioned, I've always had a very clear vision of what the barn room should look like;  I didn't think a great deal about the other rooms in the barn structure- the mud room, the storage room and the loft.  But, during the renovation they have organically become these really wonderful and charming spaces and have quickly become favorites!

The first two photos show the loft space as it looked when we found the property.  The trio of windows (which face west) are all in the loft and can be used for reference when looking at the exterior photos to see where this room lies in relation to the rest of the barn.  

This photo was taken from the location of our future master closet...

This closet. 

The framed square "box" in this photo is our master closet.  For size perspective the master closet measures 14' x 17'.  The barn room sits directly under the closet.  As you will see in later photos a wall will be built off of the beam in the forward part of the photo to close off what we call the master closet storage room, a U-shaped room that wraps around the closet.  Antique homes are well-known for their lack of closets, so where ever we can we add storage space.

The collar ties run the full length of the barn roof- over the master closet through the loft space.

We want to leave all the rough hewn, timber frame construction exposed as it is such a beautiful element in the space.

This is the loft facing south.  If you were to look out that left window you would look towards the farmhouse.  The walls of the barn are insulated using a closed cell soy-based blown-in insulation, which is why the walls are green!





The first finish-board going up on the ceiling on the north side.   I put a white pickling stain on the rough-sawn fir boards (and of course when I say "I" I mean I had the painter do it;)

This photo gives you a great view of the master closet and the U-shaped area that surrounds the closet that will become storage space. 

The gable peak in the loft measures over 17 feet!

The ceiling going up on the south side.

When we were initially working on the design of this room it was suggested to us that it would be easier (and in construction terms that means "cheaper") to put in a flat ceiling and cover up the collar ties.  We didn't see that as an option, as we felt strongly that they were an important element in the room.  What that meant is that each finished ceiling board would need to be individually scribed into and around the collar ties, a time-consuming and arduous process.

As is evident in this photo we have some very talented craftsmen working the job.

Closing in the gable...

The final finish-board on the ceiling at the peak of the gable.

The finish "barn wood" walls going in.  All wall boards in the barn (except in the barn room) are hung horizontally, as would be commonly seen in an antique barn.

I am really thrilled as to how the rough-cut pine wall boards turned out.  This stain formula was my custom designed mix (here I really do mean that "I" came up with this formula, not the painter;)
 

The raw pine boards leaning on the wall are how the boards looked naturally prior to my stain being applied.

Wall boards going in on the west wall.

In this photo you can see how the timber frame construction is left exposed and will play a big role in the architecture of the finished room.

The master closet/storage room wall being closed in.

Almost complete!   Lighting was added to the closet storage area, so in this photo you can see one side of the U-shaped space.  Below the storage room space (behind the ladder) you can see into the barn room.

The completed master closet/storage space wall.
The antique iron lantern was originally purchased to be placed on the exterior of the barn between the two sets of french doors off of the barn room.  When we moved the chimney to the outside of the barn this meant that the fixture was no longer going to work there.  While discussing this with my friend Steve ( An Urban Cottage ),  he asked me if there was any place inside the barn that I could use the lantern??   I walked the fixture through and voila!!
  The lantern is rather large and the scale is perfect in the space!   Thanks for the suggestion Steve!

 This photo was taken tonight.  We are currently working on materials for the stair railing.  The grills are off of the AC/heating vents being painted to blend into the barn wood.  Note the sweet down-filled chair found by the side of the road last winter frozen in the snow- Dan literally had to chip it out of the ice!

The windows have been trimmed with the same barn wood as the walls.

love!

don't you just love it when things start comes together?!

a post script....

For those of you who inquired about the stain formula you can find it in "my paint colors" on the sidebar!

a visitor

As you can imagine, we have lots of wildlife around the farmhouse...   we have the expected badgers, porcupines, skunks, wild turkeys and deer. We also have a bear, (though only neighbors on both sides have seen it- we've only seen evidence of it having smashed through a wall of logs along our property line), a moose, and coyotes. 

Several days ago this huge coyote walked across the east meadow in the middle of the day! 

Ella was invited to join their sorority, but when she learned that their "den" didn't have a Mama's bed with a down comforter and a fireplace, organic dog food, cookies in a jar in the kitchen and that not a single one of them had a driver's license and could take her "bye-bye in the car" she opted not to! 

the living room: details

 Thank you so much for all of your comments on the living room!
In describing the details of the room I will attempt to answer the questions you have asked, but if I miss something let me know...

The living room paint color is Benjamin Moore's Ashwood OC-47 in Eggshell.  The trim is Benjamin Moore's White Dove in Latex Satin Impervo. 
(for reference you can find all paint colors for the farmhouse on my sidebar, under "my paint colors") 

This is the view of the living room as you first step inside the house from the front door.

 I designed the sofa, which was custom made, 19 years ago!  It was originally covered in a black and cream stripe, had a skirt and a lower back.   My (much-missed and very talented) upholsterer in Dallas re-worked it for me changing the back, the arms and the adding new legs.  So... if you have a good, well-built sofa that you love, consider seeking out someone who can modify it for you.  It's not necessarily any less expensive than a new sofa, but at least you know what you are getting and how it will sit. I think sofas are the most difficult design decision to make in a room (I am also known to have "sofa issues," but I'll discuss that in another post;)
We found the antique French iron cushion mirror at the Paris Flea Market.  The rug is a boucle sisal.  The cowhide is from Ikea, and besides loving the coloring of the hide it has my maiden initials branded on it... "JW"!

Pair of antique French chairs found at the Paris Flea Market.
I had the table skirt made over 10 years ago- it is fabric, but looks just like burlap.  Fabric on top of the table is a piece of cut-velvet.  The ottoman was made using an antique tapestry fragment.

View of the living room coming down the stairs.  Yes, the decision to not do window treatments was a conscious choice! I contemplated doing curtains for several months, but in the end loved the simplicity of the rooms without them.  The original rooms downstairs are also very small, so I didn't have much wall space to work with, and we have a lot of art and mirrors which, for me, took precedence over curtains.  I have added linen curtains in all of the bedrooms upstairs, which I love, but downstairs it almost felt like a luxury to not have to have curtains to block out neighbors... and the views aren't bad either!

Demi-John glass bottle turned into lamp using a "french wire" (the wire goes behind the object instead of through it, commonly found on French lamps.)  The silver tray is a vintage hotel silver piece from the Olympic Hotel in Seattle.  The orchid sits in an antique Russian brass jardiniere.  The blue and white dish is antique Chinese. 

 



Antique wooden santos bedecked in vintage rosaries.

I think the details on the French chairs are beautiful.  The chairs were recently recovered in a natural linen.  The pillow is mink, made from a vintage muff.

View towards the front door and the dining room.  The wall color in the entry and going up the stairs is the same Benjamin Moore Ashwood as in the living room.  The antique French wood-frame chair covered in antique tapestry was found at the Scott Show in Atlanta.

This painting is 18th century Dutch (double click the photo to enlarge the details of the painting as they are really wonderful).  The painting was recently "married" to this antique frame.  Table was found in the back of a shop at the Paris Flea Market- the dealer looked at us like we were crazy when we bypassed all his fabulous furniture and wanted to buy this simple, plain little table hidden in the back of the shop!  The antique green glazed terra-cotta baluster made into a lamp is from Singapore- removed from a building being taken down; I have a photo of the original building and the balustrade that the baluster was removed from.  As we make our way around the house you'll notice I have a penchant for old balusters made into lamps!  The marble urn was purchased from a dealer at Bunny William's country house during one of her charity Trade Secrets antique shows (here). 
Antique tortoiseshell box.





Tapestry cushions are made from 17th century Flemish verdure tapestry fragments!  And yes- Ella sits on the sofa!  These tapestries are my best antiques find ever, and after 22 years of antiquing that is saying a lot!  (story to follow)

Antique French mirror (missing a good deal of gesso) found in Fredericksburg, Texas many years ago.  The antique French coffee table was found at an antiques show outside of Paris.  A pair of 1750 vellum books with an iron bird, an earthenware ginger jar and an antique Chinese blue and white "crab" dish share the tabletop.

The framed art flanking the fireplace are actually not prints, but  Herbariums.  They are pressed plant leaves and flowers that were done by Anna E. Andrews in Scotland, South Dakota. The majority were done in 1898, but several are dated 1888. When I purchased these I was given a photograph of Anna.  I had the photograph copied and there is one on the back of each herbairum. As I am only the caretaker of these antiques I want the next person who owns them to also know what Anna looked like.
On them Anna states where she found each specimen- "by the railroad," "by the creek," "in the graveyard"... I especially love the fern that must have been brought to her by a friend, which reads- "Picked in Marion, Co, Ill. during the summer of 1888 by Mrs. E.A. Scott."

Antique iron urn to the left of the fireplace is filled with "forestwood" we gathered on our many trips to the mountains of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming- all places very near and dear to our heart. 

Pair of antique Chinese blue and white double-happiness vases and pair of antique mercury glass candlesticks share the mantel with an antique English crystal and sterling matchstrike, an old basket with leather handle (one handle is missing) holding the orchid and a "conk" found in on a walk in the forest by the house.

I was asked if this piece was a photograph, which is exactly why I adore this painting... it looks just like a photograph!  It is one of my very favorite paintings (you'll will probably hear me say that about every painting I show you;)  We found the painting as young, poor newlyweds and bought it as our birthday gift to each other that year.  It is marked:  Cat Peak and Carrie Glacier, Olympic National Park.  The antique frame was recently added.

The fireplace and mantel are original to the house, but when we found the property the two small side walls off of the fireplace had been removed for some unknown reason.  The reading room sits behind this wall, so the fireplace just "floated" between the two rooms, which was a very odd sight in an antique house.  We added the walls back!  Antique andirons found on ebay.  Pair of antique marble urns with a large iron finial sit on the soapstone hearthstone.