Maple Fest

On Saturday, Anna and I had the joy of spending a few hours at Neise's Maple Farm with our friends Dawnell and Beckett. (Unfortunately, the daddys were hard at work at a merit badge seminar and couldn't join us.)

March 21-22 and 28-29 were Maple Weekend here in New York. Maple syrup producers all over the state held "open houses" with opportunities to sample pure maple syrup and see demonstrations.

The activites first included breakfast. We had our choice of french toast or pancakes both served with either bacon or sausage. I love french toast but it was ten times better smothered in fresh, pure maple syrup!

The kiddies waiting for their breakfast

Beckett shoveling delicious pancakes in as fast as he possibly can.

Anna chowing down on super yummy sausage. That's my girl!

The kids had a blast tossing wood chips into a pond. Ah, the things that are entertaining when you're almost two!

Here is a look at the Neise's "Sugar Shack"

We were able to go inside and see the production of maple syrup. The sap is poured into a huge wood burning boiler where the water is cooked off. The "smoke" you see pouring from the chimney is condensation from the process. The man running the boiler told us it takes about 53 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

As we looked around the woods surrounding the area, we could see trees with taps in them. They were all connected by an intricate maze of tubing that led to one large collection tank.

Look closely at the trees behind Dawnell and the kids and you can see the taps.

Our festival experience was rounded out by visits to some animals, listening to fun guitar players, a perusal of the farm store and a close encounter with a giant moose.

We left Neise's with full bellies, happy hearts and jugs of fresh maple syrup. A Saturday morning well spent!