Visit a sugar maple farm

Moms brunch

I looked back at the previous post I made about visiting Sugar Moon Farm, which I had done with my mom 5 years ago, and realized that we had actually done some stuff that day. The main thing I remember from that trip was that we could not get up the small little grade with our car from the road to the parking lot because it was so icy. However, we were able to walk up and have lunch there along with trying sugar on snow. It was during the pandemic so the farm changed how they operated, meaning they were not providing tours or their normal food.

This past weekend (March 29), my mom and I went back up because we wanted to try again and participate fully in what they offer. We had a brunch reservation for 10 a.m. and this time we were able to make it to the parking lot, which we had a laugh about. The restaurant has one staple meal that is shown on the menu on their website along with a taster and kid version. I had the Sugar Moon 'Taster' for brunch which includes a fresh biscuit & maple butter, one red fife buttermilk pancake, maple syrup, NS wild blueberry-maple compote, pure maple whipped cream and a side. I don't like warm blueberries so I didn't have the compote on it but the meal was delicious, for my side I got a knackwurst sausage. There were a few specials so my mom had one of those which was the savoury french toast, that had parm, white cheddar cheese and something else on it plus a side.

Maple tree with sap bin and old cook pot

After we finished eating, we looked around the shop and mom ended up buying some maple syrup. I was going to go for a walk on the Rogart Mountain Trail and visit Jane's Waterfall but the trail was closed which was unfortunate. For a month in spring, the Cobequid Eco-Trails Society closes the trail as it is so wet and soft. So we went to look for another trail near by but there was lots of snow still up there & I only had sneakers on so I decided not to chance walking the one we did find just down the street. Instead, we decided to drive to Pictou, however with not having service to use maps, we ended up heading towards Tatamagouche. Before we got too far though, we stopped at the Earltown General Store and bought some treats. We also saw some deer in a few different fields on the side of the road, it was cool so we stopped to take pictures. After looking around Tatamagouche a little bit, we drove back to the farm for the sugar farm tour which started at 2pm.

Waddell Falls

The tour was interesting but it was all inside, though the part that has the sap collector machine is not insulated and has a metal roof so it's cold. You learn about some of the history of maple syrup and how they make it at Sugar Moon. The tour is kid friendly but is an hour long so halfway through the children on the one we went on were getting antsy. At the end, they let you taste their syrup as they bottle it at different points of the season. My mom and I liked the early season syrup but they also had mid-late season and late kinds. The tour goers all got to do sugar on snow as well. Afterwards, we went to Truro and Victoria Park so I could get a walk in. I walked to the waterfalls in the park but it was muddy and a bit icy. Before we went home, we had supper at The Nook & Cranny restaurant because I really wanted my mom to try their chowder. She did get a cup along with the mushroom gouda burger while I got an order of glazed pork belly & chowder. It was all delicious, the pork belly was part of the monthly specials so they may not have it when you visit.