Maple Syrup

Until I came to this area, I had never tried maple syrup.  I used to believe that maple syrup was that thick, dark stuff sold in the "log cabin" bottle and I never really liked it.  Like peanut butter, maple syrup is one of the things that became a part of my life only 8 years ago.  My pancakes were enjoyed with honey, my lunch sandwiches were made with re-fried black beans.  So I absolutely fell in love with the "real thing" once I tried it, and I am so sold!  Never have my pancakes seen honey again!

So you will understand my excitement when I realized that I actually know people who own a sugar bush (ahem, is that what you call it?) and that I could get to see how this is done.  By the way, I have to say one of my favorite things of my school days was doing field trips... do you know how thrilled I am that I get to choose and be a part of my children's field trips?  Granted, so far I am usually the most excited:  "Girls, guess what?  We will go see how maple syrup is made?"

Adriana:  "What?  Maple syrup?  What's that?"

Me:  "The stuff we put in our pancakes!"

Adriana: "Ohhh"

Elena:  "Will there be wasps or bees?"

Me:  "No, maple syrup comes from trees!"

Elena:  "Are we going to be there a long time?"

Me:  "Well, I don't know, but they also have a barn with baby lambs."

Both:  "I want to hold a baby lamb!  Can we touch them?  Can we feed them?"

Yeah, so I hope I plan a few trips in there with stuff they enjoy, such as the baby lambs more often!  At any rate, here a few pics:

It begins here... in these beautiful woods.

They gather the sap from the tree as the weather warms up and the trees start "waking up" for the Spring.

As the sap flows from the roots to the branches to awaken the tree, it gets collected in these buckets.

It boils at insane temperatures!

And voilá!

Need I say more?