I have such happy memories of visiting the Sugar Bush this time of year when I was a kid, and one of the great things about being a parent is the opportunity to revisit all your old childhood favourites to see how they've changed. The Sugar Bush is much like I remember it, although they've modernized their tapping and sap transportation methods a bit... while some of the trees have the traditional faucet-style taps and metal buckets, most of them are rigged as shown above, with a web-like network of hoses whisking the sap off to what I've always just called the "Sugar Shack". We worked off part of our delicious pancake brunch walking through the woods checking out depictions of the many different eras of maple syrup production, including the original Native method, the style used by English settlers, and today's more modern production. It's a trip I know we'll make again, and I hope one day Sophie will look back as fondly on the experience as I do.
It is nice to know that you remember those trips to the sugar bush. It's funny how cold, bland flapjacks can taste like a bit of heaven when covered with fresh maple syrup and eaten in a Sugar Shack with dozens of other people.
ReplyDeleteDaD
Absolutely - it's a real "sense memory" experience, being back there. The sounds, the smells, the scraping of the hard plastic chairs across the cement floor, and trying to figure out how to eat pancakes with mittens on!
ReplyDelete