A VISIT TO THE SUGAR BUSH

What a wonderful time we had last Sunday afternoon! We took the granddaughters to a county park east and south of LaGrange, Indiana for Maple Syrup Days! Here's Emma posing at the entrance to the "Sugar Bush,"--better known as the woods.

Papa and the girls enjoying the crispy cold, but sunny afternoon!

Emma and Granny sitting at the front of the horse drawn wagon that took us for a ride into the "Sugar Bush" where we learned all about the process of tapping trees and making syrup. The wagon even stopped out in the woods and the guide took a pail off the tree and let us dip our fingers in to taste the sap!

Emma and Sophie sitting outside the Sugar House where gallons and gallons of sap was boiling down. The steam cloud inside was huge and venting through a cupola in the roof, but the smell was wonderful! Sophie is finishing her second maple syrup sucker.

Granny and the girls next to a maple tree. This Sugar Bush is filled with 600 or so pails just like this one--a traditional type of pail with cover. Plastic pails are used in some areas, such as the roadside I photographed in a former post. The sap runs best when the nights are below freezing and the days sunny and warmer than 32 degrees. The morning before our tour, the guide said every pail in the woods was overflowing!

Papa and the girls sitting on bales of straw near the Sugar House.

People dressed as pioneers were boiling sap down in this cauldron. We came home pleasantly scented like woodsmoke and sweet syrup steam! The girls tasted cotton candy made from maple sugar and ate maple syrup suckers shaped like maple leaves. But most of all, they loved the horse drawn wagon rides. Since we were some of the last visitors of the afternoon we actually got to take two wagon rides through the Sugar Bush! Wonderful memories and an awesomely educational field trip! I thought of God's great provision and all the various types of sweetness He blesses us with (like little grandchildren) as we rode through the woods! Blessings, LORI

MAPLE SYRUP TIME

Our rural county roads are lined with sights like this right now. Many people are tapping the maple trees this time of year. I'm almost jealous of the tree-tappers. I could easily live my life in the old-fashioned, homesteading, country manner. Problem is, no one else in the family is all that excited about such an endeavor and that lifestyle takes the cooperation of a whole household. When I hear of someone who is raising goats or sheep, I dream of my own flock. I've only been able to raise the chickens so far--a job not requiring the help of more than one person.

Every year when I see the trees tapped it reminds me of my childhood when one year my parents decided to tap our maple trees and boil the syrup down for a science project for me. I will never forget all the work (mostly on their part!). But I'd love to try it again!

My favorite reading often consists of homesteading magazines and historical non-fiction. This time of year I'm beginning to miss my garden and long for the satisfaction of new green sprouts coming up in neat rows. I just thought this picture typified spring and after the snowfall this week--we could use some thoughts of spring! Blessings, LORI

SAY CHEESE!

Taking advantage of every possible moment to enjoy the grandkids while they are still in Michigan!

After our trip to the cheese factory (see last post), we decided to make some cheese of our own--Farmer's Cheese! I love this kind of cheese because it is so easy to make. Two little enthusiastic cheesemakers joined me in the kitchen on Tuesday to make a batch. Here they are both posing with the bowl of curds. The curds are draining through a cheesecloth and soon we will gather the edges of the cloth together and squeeze out the excess water.

                   Emma poses a few hours later with the finished product! She didn't really like the taste, but Sophie did! Grandchildren are such fun. We are enjoying making memories! Blessings, LORI