Winter Road Tour - Part Deux

I'm in Ontario, one hour south of Ottawa visiting a friend who has a maple syrup sugar bush.  He's a local maple syrup producer and let me just say, it's a labour of love.  An amazing amount of work.  However, it's been so cold that we're waiting for the maple syrup to start running!  Probably the latest year that it's ever been.   It needs to be around zero degrees for the sap to flow.  So I'm sticking around to see this.  It will certainly be a first for me.  Folks around here take maple syrup for granted... kind of like how Vancouverites take sushi for granted!  I went for a long walk into the 100 acre property today and here are some of the lovely photos.  
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I've been busy in the Ottawa area, a CTV Morning Live performance that you can catch here: http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=306366  along with radio shows and newspaper articles.  I've actually had a few more days off and been trying to catch up on sleep and the 247 emails in my inbox.  Geez.  It also gave me a chance to trim my hair, a task I've decided to take on myself in the short term.  It's actually been turning out well :)

Oh, and I was in a Globe & Mail Article about music and business degress with a few other friends - check this out! http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/business-education/musical-careers-launched-in-the-key-of-b-school/article17450890/

I head to Montreal tomorrow for a CBC Television performance, Montreal radio interview and finally a show tomorrow night at Folky Wednesdays. All in french!  Except me singing my songs of course.  I'm so glad I was a french immersion kid.  The french speaking does stress me a bit - I'm nervous I'll forget a word or use the wrong tense.  Thank goodness everyone is so wonderful and patient, well so far anyway.  

I will get a chance to reconnect with my Montreal based singer-songwriter friend Corinna Rose.  I usually only see her at Folk Alliance and Folk Music Ontario, so this is a treat.  

Some interesting things, fuel is Quebec is more expensive.  Almost 10 cents more - while beer is nearly half!  I learned that on my first Costco grocery trip.  The less expensive liquor was certainly a pleasant surprise.  

And when I get back, I'll finally get a chance to go to the Wakefield Inn.  Jonathan Byrd will be performing - another songwriter friend - and it's a legendary place so I'm certainly looking forward to that and catching up with an old friend from Vancouver who now lives in Ottawa.

More news soon...