Maple Sugaring

When I was in elementary school, I remember loving the books Miracle on Maple Hill and whichever Laura Ingalls Wilder edition that tells about the kids making maple candy by pouring fresh syrup into shapes on a pan of snow. It has been on my bucket list (pun just realized) ever since then to experience the thrill of maple sugaring for myself. And now our family is blessed to live in the ONLY region on earth to have the particular tree variety and weather that allows maple sugaring to happen. About a week ago we visited our local farmpark to see how the process works.

First, pound a hollow nail into the trunk of a maple tree (or a stand of maple trees, as the case may be as in the photo above). Then, drape a bucket over the nail. When the weather gets to that days have melting snow, but nights drop back below freezing again, then the sap will run.

It comes out of the tree as a clear, thin liquid. It looks just like water.

This liquid then gets boiled down to a thicker syrup. Pictured above is a "backyard" type of boiling process, but we also saw a larger, more industrial vat as well.

We got to ride the tracter-pulled wagon which that Lo loved. He smiled and waved to it as it pulled up.

It also happened to be a big quilt show that weekend, and this was our favorite one.

Don't the horses look just like that quilt? This horse-drawn wagon is the alternative to the tractor-pulled cart we were in. Lo seems to enjoy the tractors more than the horses. Which I do not understand myself, but whatever.

This was our last visit to the farmpark before our membership expired. Sad. But we will probably still go a few times in the upcoming year as a couple other families we know have memberships with guest passes. Let the mooching begin!

The horses in this video were pulling a load of freshly gathered sap.

Birthing Time Already?

I always envision springtime as the official herald of babies; Easter chicks & ducklings, deer with their fawns starting to dot the landscape, and so forth. But apparently January in Ohio marks the time for births to start going full swing. We visited our local farmpark yesterday and were pleased to see we came just in time to ooohh and ahhh over teensy wittow lambies (one week old) and these piglets (also one week old): I could have knelt there gazing at these babies in their pink newness all day long. Their wrinkly skins, feathery fur lightly covering such squishy little bodies, flopping ears, and eager newborn suckling just melted my heart.

And while we are talking about cute babies, take a look at that Lo's farmer attire. He always dons his Carhartt coveralls when we go to the farmpark, and this time I also bundled him with a woolen ear flaps hat, fleecy scarf and reversible jacket. There is something just so nurturing about taking half an hour to dress a squirming child before he runs outside. Oh, and note his sneakers that never fail to get soaked in water as this boy likes to splash through puddles.
Here in the cheesemaking room is our whole group that went to Farmpark yesterday. Kristen & Claire, Lindsay & Tyson, Chelsea & Baby-to-be-born any day now, and me & that Lo.
We are so glad to have a group of other mommy & baby friends that live close by.

Harvest Fest, American Version

Last week I posted about our Chinese Harvest Festival, but today's post will cover our trip to the "American" Harvest Festival, celebrated at the local farmpark.  It was more "Western-themed" than mooncakes and lanterns, I suppose.  They had pony rides, peddlers, pumpkins, and...corn mazes (couldn't figure out a way to say that last one with a P). 

An apple butter cooking pot.  We got to sample the apple butter, and also had samples of a few different varieties of apples.  I think I have not yet explained the apple consternation we have in the Tam household.  I personally like all kinds of apples except red delicious, because more often than not, this variety tends to have a tough, bitter skin and mushy, bland insides.  I have heard they used to be delicious (hence the name) but modern fruit developers (is that the real title of those people?) tried so hard to get a beautiful red color on the outside that they neglected to preserve the flavor.  Jerry, on the other hand, enjoys only apples that are "sweet," rather than those that are "tart" or "sour."  He insists red delicious is the only apple variety he has tried that is reliably not too sour.  So we never know quite what to buy at the grocery store.  But sometimes I get red delicious just for Jerry and feel quite big-hearted as I do so. 

Anyway, you may guess it was with great interest that we sampled apples this day.  We consulted each other, trying to find the perfect apple for our household purchase that would satisfy both of us.  Turns out one does indeed exist: the honey crisp apple is perfect--sweet, crunchy, flavorful.  Too bad I'm not aware that any of our usual grocery stores sells it. 

During our last few visits to the farmpark we declined the pony rides because they cost a few dollars extra.  But this visit, Lo seemed enamored with the horses--finally!  Note his cuteness pointing to the horses in the videos below (if you watch just one, the last one in the lineup is the best).  So we couldn't resist letting him get the 2 min. saunter around the circle on horseback. 

Again, a purchase we made just because our Lo is so adorable.  He gave an excited grin to all these jack-o-lanterns-to-be, and then wouldn't let go of this mini punkin.  So we bought it and he carried it around in his clutching paws for half the day.  A lot of people commented how cute it was that he loved his pumpkin.  And we agree. 

Perhaps this child can never own too many pairs of overalls.  He has four teeth on top; they never show, no matter the size of his smile.  Interesting, no?  We've only caught passing glimpses of those teeth when turning him upside-down.