This morning as I was heating up his oatmeal, Cubby reminded me to put lots of syrup in it. Right. A teaspoon of maple syrup coming up.
And then he said, "I have a great idea!"
This phrase is always followed by something amusing, if not entirely practical, so I waited for this particular brilliant thought . . .
"After I have my oatmeal, we should go out to our maple trees and tap them and bring home more syrup."
He seems to have forgotten the million hours or so of boiling that occur between the collection of sap and the existence of syrup.
Obviously, skipping the sugarin' this year is having a negative impact on his woodchuck education already. How quickly they forget.
Ah, but Cubby remembers something even more important - the fun of being outdoors with a parent, actively involved in the production of something awesome. It's really amazing that the adults still persist in the yearly activity, even with the knowledge of the toil involved and the availability of the stuff on grocery shelves.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's aunt thought all you had to do was go out with a hammer and tap on the trees and you got syrup. :)
ReplyDeleteShe had always heard of "tapping" trees and never learned more about it.
Also, once you know all the work/time that goes into making real maple syrup you understnad why it is pricey in the store.
Homemade is better....anything , everything.
Go Cubby.
Beth
Mother Nature didn't cooperate with maple sapping (that is so a word!) this year. If it's not too expensive, I'll be buying my syrup at the Farmers' Market.
ReplyDelete