During the Highland Maple Festival, follow the maple tour signs to Duff's Sugar House located at Fair Lawn Farm in southern Highland County. Tim Duff, retired from the Coast Guard, sugars the old way and is happy to explain the process on his authentic equipment in the sugaring house behind his home.
Because he uses the old way of tapping trees and collecting sugar water with buckets, the process takes longer so the yield is not as much as those who use more modern methods causing the product to sell out quickly each day of the festival. This was the first year we got there early enough to finally buy our own bottle of Duff's Sugar House pure maple syrup. Yum.
Sugar maple trees are tapped and buckets collect the sugar water. Tops on the buckets protect sugar water from debris.
Duff's Sugar House is located behind the main home. Because of the extremely wet and muddy conditions in the field (after downpours a few days earlier), visitors were parking on the road in front of the house.
Helpful directional signs are located throughout Highland to help visitors find the sugar camps.
Tim Duff, owner of Duff's Sugar House and Fair Lawn Farm, is a 20-year veteran with the Coast Guard. This brick commemorates that service on the Walk of Honor located in downtown Monterey at the Courthouse. Many thanks for his service from a grateful Virginian.
Photos by Lynn R. Mitchell
12 March 2011
12 March 2011
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