Ah, the offseason pace begins.

'It's been a tremendous Summer run', he exclaimed.

'But I'd be lying if I didn't admit this new off-season pace is a sight for sore eyes and forarms'

As we all know, the first half's weather ranged from dank and dreary to just plain awful, but as is usually the case in fickle New England, it all averages out in the end. August and September were just about as good as it gets around here. And how timely was the arrival of our 35 bear friends to rescue me from what could have been a tough ice cream season.

If you've left your house at all over the past couple days, you probably noticed the arrival of that nearly forgotten Fall feel. Thoughts turn to calling to get that oil tank filled, covering the pool, and planting those flower bulbs.

My reaction to the cool temps and noticably slower pace in the shop this week? New scoops for the scoopers...

As someone who often tries to find meaning in the trivial, I point this out mostly to illustrate a business tip. In hindsight, it seems like common sense, but this year I decided to buy new scoops going into the colder, off-season. Usually, I just buy them at the start of the busy summer season. You see, when it's colder out, it's cooler in the shop, the freezers run colder and the ice cream doesn't warm up as much it does during the summer. As you probably figured out by now, this explains why it's harder to scoop the ice cream during the colder months. Hence, the need for new and sharper scoops.

These are the things small business owners think about (particularly of the ice cream variety).

Not rocket science, I admit, but it did give me a chance to show off the shiny new #16 Zerolls.

Moving right along, caught this big scary bird circling around the drained pond the other day. Turned out to be a not-so-exotic turkey vulture. (thanks Marlies for knocking when big scary bird came by)...

Speaking of dredging, not too much going on yet. Some heavy construction down on Water Street by the 'town beach...

The pond is definitely empty. Wonder if this is the orginal path of the Broad Brook...


A few random points while I'm here.

Started experimenting with natural colors (e.g. beet juice for red). I'm a believer that you do eat with your eyes, and flavors like Mint Chocolate Chip are more appealing (visually and to the palate) when they're tinted the appropriate color. If I can get the natural colors worked out, it'll be the best of both worlds. Stay tuned, more on that to come.

This, my first attempt at buttered popcorn, didn't turn out exactly as planned. If I ever need dayglo for a color base, though, at least I know how to make that...



I did remake the popcorn flavor, and it's actually pretty good, in a buttered popcorn Jelly Belly kindof way. It's not on the specials board yet, but if you ask for it, I'm sure we could scoop up a dish or sample for you.

With the cooler weather comes time to tinker. And what better to tinker with but hot chocolate recipes. We already make our HC with Ghiradelli sweet chocolate topped with homemade whipped cream and chocolate shavings, but in the interest of always raising the bar, we experiment...

Finally, last but definitely not least, check out the new BearFest posters. They are extremely cool and a steal at just ten bucks each. As always, all proceeds go to great BearFest causes. You can get 'em right here at Mt. Tom's (click on the poster for a closer look)...

And don't forget to order that tank of oil.