Maple Sugaring Field Trip

Today, I had the good fortune of chaperoning Ezra's kindergarten field trip to learn about maple sugaring. Production of this delicious natural sweetener occurs in our neck of the woods and only during the months of February, March and April. Sap flows only when there are freezing nights with warm days. Native Americans taught early settlers in the 1700s how to tap tree trunks, harvest the sap and then boil it to evaporate most of the water. It was a labor intensive and time consuming process which helped early Americans get through the "starvation" time of winter. It takes 10 gallons of sap to be boiled down into 1 quart of syrup! Our field trip culminated with sampling some delicious maple syrup over pancakes and popcorn outdoors... but my fingers were so cold and I forgot to take a photo. But, let me say, it was yummy!!