Tree Sugar

On Saturday at about 11:30 Daddy, Ben, & I went to our friends, Doug Lewis's, to help make maple syrup. That is really good when it's done! It is also very hard work. About two weeks ago, we began collecting the sap from the sugar maples, then Sat. they (Doug's) started a fire to boil down the sap at 5:30 am. The kids usually just play outside in the woods because most of the work consists of working with boiling sap, huge pans, and large fires. Saturday the boys declared war on us girls. The war eventually moved to the hay-loft. At about 2:30 they moved the sap from the large pan over the big fire to another, smaller pan over a smaller fire. It finished cooking at about 8 pm. About 100 gallons of sap makes only about 20 pints of syrup. Playing war against the boys is no joke, I was very sore & tired by the time we got home. Hannah, Mamma, & Nathan joined us later, Hannnah had basketball & Nathan had soccer practice. Hannah was a spoil sport & wouldn't play war with us. (She SAID she couldn't play because hay might get into her contacts.)
-KD-