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Within the confines of this blog, you will find bits and pieces of the life and times of myself, my family and friend dear and near., far and wide, few and far between. You will find bits and pieces of my world, tho small to some, but huge to me. You will find everything from 'soup to nuts',; recipes, hobbies,crafts, gardenings,loves of my life, GrandLoves-a-Plenty, and even my pets... Sooo, if you can handle family life, enjoy the tour of my 'Stuffings'.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Yes, I'll Come, but What's Up Now My Love?

They say, that with true love,you will follow him anywhere~~~~~so where are we off to this time, dear, and
what are these tools for? And are those pipe fittings and short pieces of pipe? What the~~~~~
You've got to be kidding, right? Yes, I understand. You have this uncontrollable urge to drill holes in our trees to see what comes out?
I've been eves-dropping on your chit-chat with my brother...so you are hungry for the taste of sap coffee? or pure maple syrup?
I see you jimmy-rigged some home-made taps when you just as easily could have waited until tomorrow when I go to the farm. I could have gotten you some ' real ' taps and the pails. Why, my love, must you always be so impatient? I'm wondering, is this what retirement is going to be like? I was in the middle of spring cleaning AND making your supper.

Yes, dear, I see the sap is dripping 110 drips a minute....and your point is?I'm just saying, MY point is, it's like having a hobby farm. If you're going to milk one cow, you might as well have a barn full because you have to stay home for one just like you would for 50. So, either tap trees and make maple syrup or don't tap at all. What's with only tapping 6, I say, six trees? And, what's with only one tap per tree? This is going to be a hoot. Do you remember the last time you did this ' small fry ' maple syruping? Do you remember how you walked away from the boil at the most crucial moment and you lost every drop of syrup?
Yes, but, that was when I was a drinking man and had to get another beer~~~~

So, just why did you say we are Not tapping the whole woods?
Because I only want 30 gallons. That's all we need to make a gallon of pure maple syrup. Besides, we do not have the set-up to do it big.

Ok, so tell me why you want to make your own maple syrup when we can go up the road and get it from Dave? (Dave is our nephew who makes maple syrup on a much larger scale, but still small-time.)

Because I want the Grandkids to see this and help gather so they know how to do it for themselves someday. Or say they made maple syrup with Grandpa and Grandma.

Well, now that's the best reason in the world to tap 6 trees. One more question~~~~and why didn't we just tap the trees in the yard?

Because maple trees grow in the woods. That's what I'm telling the kids.
I've never liked beer, but if I did, I'd have to tell ya..........
All in fun and the family~~~~~
to be continued! I will have to keep you updated on this little venture that Bill is on. I'm kidding him a lot but really am looking forward to doing this with our GrandLoves as much as he is. Maple Syrup time is exciting. I remember tapping, collecting, cooking, the whole process until it was poured over our pancakes along with a hot cup of maple sap coffee to top it off. What a great way to welcome spring.

Thanks for stopping and
BlessYourHeart

23 comments:

www.thewhitefarmhouse2.blogspot.com said...

How lucky for your grandkids to do this with you. I have always wanted to do maple syrup. I am so jealous! Would you consider adoption at this point in your life? I'm potty trained!

Paula said...

Love where this entry ended up. Something you like to do. Very good one.

Anonymous said...

I have never done this,but it sure sounds like fun.

Deb said...

I like the way you tap the trees we don't do that here in Oz. If we want maple syrup we have to buy imported or just use maple flavoured syrup.

TexWisGirl said...

Glad you wrapped it up with fun, because I was gonna smack your hubby for you otherwise... :)

Osage Bluff Quilter said...

Looks like so much fun!
I bet it will be tasty too!

jack69 said...

I think what's his name has a great idea. Riding out on the four wheeler with a hot mama.LOL
Sounds like it will be great for the kids.
I did have to check on Mel, to see if that was
Sis. Mel being a smarty, but it wasn't. (Sorry mel's.)

Love the approach to the blog. I'm also with the Whitefarmhouse lady, 'cept can't we wait until it is warm???? hahahahaha

Love the entry and the shadow photo!!!

Nancy Grossi ~ Churned In Cali ~ The Wife of a Dairyman said...

I love that you guys can tap into trees back east and have some maple syrup:) Very cool. Wish we had that here in CA

~mel said...

ahhh... one question ~ where are the kids?

Janet Metzger, Artist said...

Morning Dar,
Thanks for your sweet comment on my slipcovered Bullet hole ;->
I love using real maple syrup in my homemade granola recipe..only real..no fake stuff. It's the best!

Janet xox
http://theemptynest-janet.blogspot.com/

Arkansas Patti said...

What a neat post and what a cool guy. I was pulling for him all the way. Make memories young man, make memories.
Loved the shadow shot.

Sue McPeak said...

Fun Fun Fun!!! Your GrandLoves WILL have such great memories of making Maple syrup from trees in the woods...that's a fact! I bet you make great pancakes, too!

I'm wondering if there is such a thing as Mesquite Syrup...we have lots of those here in Texas.

Thanks for stopping by CITexas Gal for my Yarn post. I've been on Knit and Crochet Bag Binge lately. You can see some of my bags on my Knitting Blog...the link is on CIT Gal on the sidebar. I love that you made your GrandGal a bag...mine like the knitted bags, too.

Helen said...

Sounds great. I have never tasted the sap in coffee. Helen

Cher' Shots said...

Good point Mel ~ I think they are just using the 'grandkids' as an excuse to tap some trees.Oh how I loved sap coffee and the fresh syrup over pancakes. Mom & dad sure had the coolest set up ever! Miss those days. Great memories.
'love & hugs from afar'

Remington said...

What great memories!

Unknown said...

I was laughing thinking this sounded like the kind of conversation I would be having with my husband! But... it does sound like fun! Happy Tapping!

Buttons Thoughts said...

Dar Bill is very handy I love the homemade taps I will have to show those to My Hero. Good Luck yummy syrup. Nice can. B

Louise said...

Yum! Maple syrup!

Fred Alton said...

Now you and your sister really have my curiosity up about tapping maple trees and cooking the sap down to make syrup. I'm sure it would be somewhat like making molasses from sugar cane. Can I do that down here in the south? Guess I'll have to google a bit tomorrow about maple syrup! ☺

Anonymous said...

And I always thought syrup came from the grocery store. Who would of thunk it came from trees. I bet you can't tell I'm a city slicker :-)

Anonymous said...

I totally love it!

Dar said...

Re: Fred, About making maple syrup- the weather has to be right, warm days, cold nights making what we call ' the maple sap run.' Once the trees bud out, the sap stops running and gets a bitter instead of sweet taste. The sugar content is what the big-time syrup makers look for. It makes all the difference in the color, taste and thickness of true maple syrup. The best syrup is amber in color and thin in content. Hope that answers some questions. You also could read 3/22/2010's entry in my archives, where I went into a bit more detail of the process.
Re: All- Maple syruping is a very memorable experience. If you ever get the chance to visit an operation, do it. You will leave with a sweet smile.
Re: WhiteFarm & Jack- Adoption is certainly an option, so long as you are potty trained and do the dishes.
Re: Mel- the grandkids were with their parents. Grandma needed some R&R.
Re: RonJoe- That's ok. One of my Grandloves thought apples came from the store. She was so surprised they grew on trees.
Appologies if I missed any of your questions.
BlessYourHearts

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