Maple Sugaring

It's maple sugaring time in Ohio. For those who don't know what the heck I'm talking about, it's the time when the sugar maple trees are tapped so that we can have yummy maple syrup on our pancakes. Today I took my family for the annual maple sugar outing. It's an event where we listen to a naturalist talk about the history and methods of collecting maple sugar. Then we walk in mud and bog-like conditions to "oooh and ahhh" about how much sugar water is in the bucket at each tapped tree. My kids really don't enjoy the naturalist's commentaries, although I must say, today's guide was quite thorough. My kids prefer to poke each other with sticks and get as filthy as possible, which is exactly what they did today. My little guy even commented in a very clear voice that he didn't want to hear the guy talk. I told him he'd get to eat some maple sugar treats if he'd politely listen. He did, and afterwards got to enjoy pure maple syrup and cubes of maple sugar. It was quite a sight seeing those happy little faces covered in maple syrup and mud! And did I mention the sugar buzz afterward?