Maple syrup and cornmeal pancakes

A few weeks ago, it arrived! Our maple syrup from the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary's sugaring program. Months ago, I'd blogged about my family's first experience maple sugaring. What a fun morning! We're looking forward to next year's program. If you'd like more details, contact Mass Audubon. A few of their sites offer maple sugaring in the late winter/early spring.

Mass Audubon: Wachusett Meadow

A couple of weekends ago, we took a trip to Mass Aubudon's Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton, MA. This 1,200-acre site is home to an 80-acre beaver pond, otters, countless birds, a small flock of sheep, and numerous trails. Here are some highlights. A nice antidote to yet another gray, rain-soaked New England day.


Beaver pond or beavers run amuck.


We didn't see any beavers, but saw their work. Note gnaw marks.


Showing kids milkweed




A snake in the grass. Alas.

Maple sugaring

I'm a big fan of Mass Audubon. Our $58 family membership has been one of the best purchases we've made since moving to the Boston area. So when I found out about the maple sugaring program at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, I immediately signed up my family.



The Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary's annual Rent-a-Bucket program gives folks the chance to actually tap maple trees. A great hands-on activity for the entire family. Tickets to a pancake breakfast later in the spring and a bottle of maple syrup made from sap collected on-site were added bonuses. Through their sugaring season, the wildlife sanctuary and its fellow Mass Audubon site, Moose Hill in Sharon, offer maple sugaring tours where you can watch sap being collected and boiled as well as taste the sweet results. Perfect family fun when winter seems to be dragging its heels.

After the participants all arrived, we headed down to a grove of maples trees a short walk away.



Tapping maple trees turned out to be a relatively simple process. You drill a hole in the trunk to a depth of about an inch-and-a-half, angling the hole downward towards the exit. The hole needs to be on the southern side of the trunk, at least six inches from previous holes. (The holes from previous tapping spots heal over and look something like belly buttons). Once the hole is drilled and cleaned out of shavings, a spile is gently tapped into place. A bucket is hooked under the spile and covered.





The sap doesn't really start flowing until the days turn warm. It was in the high twenties that morning so only one of the several trees my son tapped started flowing. The flow was more like steady droplets. We all tasted the sap as it dripped from the spile. It was clear and watery and tasted very slightly sweet. The sugar content is highest at the beginning of the season (around 4%) and drops off to about 1% by its end.



Once the sap flows, it is collected every couple of days. The Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary has a wood-burning evaporator that boils the sap, concentrating the sugars. The final boil is done in the kitchen where temperatures can be more finely controlled. The result can be light, clear amber or a darker, richer maple syrup.





What an amazing family outing! No one wanted to leave. Many thanks to Richard and the other folks who work and volunteer at Ipswich River. Their warmth and enthusiasm for what they do added greatly to our experience. My children all had a hand in tapping the trees. Even the little ones gently tapped in the spiles. We're all looking forward to coming back, visiting "our" trees, and seeing how they're producing. I think we have a family tradition in the making.

(For information on other Massachusetts farms that offer sugar house tours, you can check the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association.)

Reflections upon leaves

These photos are from our recent trip to the Ipswich River wildlife sanctuary. The largest Audubon site in Massachusetts, this sanctuary offers over ten miles of trails winding through 2,265 acres, mainly wetlands.

The sanctuary's most famous feature is the Rockery, a project commissioned by Thomas Proctor, a wealthy landowner. Designed by Japanese landscape architect, Shintare Anamete, work on the Rockery began in 1902. Anamete stayed on the site during the entire nine-year construction period, overseeing every detail. (From Of Fantasies and Footpaths: Seven Landscapes to Enjoy With Children by Maryann Alberts Malarkey) Enormous boulders, brought in by cart and horse from miles away, form tunnels, ledges, overhangs, and many, many opportunities for excited little guys to climb, clamber, and explore. We had to pry the kiddos away.





Fall color at Ipswich River. Glorious. You don't need to trek to a sanctuary to see the leaves. Color is everywhere. I've had to remind myself to pay attention because I'm gawking as I drive down the highways.





The reflections of the trees shimmering in the many ponds were almost literally enchanting.