I hadn't seen that update yet. Good call!

Magic mountain isn't upper valley but it's not that far. It's a lot cheaper than Killington and easily some of the best terrain south of Rt 4. It should also be prime with this southern tracking storm.

Using it in coffee seems like a bit of a luxury but I I love it. Even better in lattes. I usually make about 3 gallons a year and it's enough to supply all my gluttonous desires.

The lack of water and the hydrophilic nature of sugar actually makes maple syrup a very poor home for bacterial growth. That's not to say that mold can't grow in syrup (it certainly can), but the only known type of mold that can grow in maple syrup is non toxic.

I keep a quart jar on my counter and It goes in my coffee each morning along with various other things. I use it up in about a month and its always fine. If you want peace of mind then you can keep it cold but I never have a problem. The good news is that maple syrup is inhospitable to most organisms and the only mold that is known to grow in maple syrup (Wallimia sp.) is non toxic. Worst case scenario, if you find a fuzzy little colony floating around in your syrup you can scoop it out and pretend you never saw it.

(Further reading compliments of the mycology department at Cornell)

Yeah, it's not great in the winter since we run the heat pump plus electric (heat pump) hot water, but during summer our electric is close to zero.

Electric with solar via heat pump and heavily supplemented by wood stove in the living room. Electric is approximately $200/mo. in the winter for a 2k sq/ft home set to about 66* downstairs, 62* upstairs when occupied. Wood usage is about 2 cords/year for "free" harvested and hand split off the property.

Believe it or not, that's how they look in the wild!