Critz Farms

Last weekend we visited a local farm for a tour of their maple syrup factory.  The tour was fairly small and just in one room, but it was fun to hear about the process that the sap undergoes to become maple syrup. There were little samples of syrup and maple flavored popcorn.  You could also pay for an all you can eat breakfast, but we opted to eat breakfast at home.  (I knew I couldn't eat my weight in pancakes, eggs, and bacon to make it work the $12 per adult and I didn't want to pay $6 for Lincoln and Annika when they might not eat anything or only a few bites.)  I think this was my first experience with real maple syrup and it is good.  The big kids thought it just tasted like honey, but there was a distinct maple flavor to it.  I learned that the color of the syrup depends on the weather the day it is tapped and boiled.  A darker, richer, syrup is produced when the temperature rises or falls a lot during the day.  When the temperature is mostly stationary and on the cold side the syrup tends to be a light amber color.

We also took a ride to the sugar bush grove so we could see the maple trees.  It was interesting to see the trees with the tubing coming out of them and how it is all collected with the help of gravity.  I just thought the entire process was fascinating.  The wagon ride was cold, but it allowed us to snuggle together.  Lincoln especially enjoyed watching the tractor pull our wagon.

The blue line is the easiest to see, but there were white/clear lines, too.

All snuggled together.  It's so hard to get everyone looking at once!!