3/6/2020
Dear Farm Journal,
Acer saccharum, our state tree, the sugar maple gave me incredible joy today. We explored the marvel of tapping trees with the KVR forest school children this morning, and I was fortunate to have some partially boiled sap to share. Papa Rich has been tucked down in the maple sugar bush, faithfully filling pans and fanning fires, working with Mother Nature to bring us this treat. As the children tasted the nectar, their eyebrows raised and eyes widened. They licked their lips and bounced in their seats, savoring the sweetness and zealously appealing for seconds as they measured the falling levels in the jar with edacious eyes. They were in love! We hiked to a tree, told a story, drilled a tap. Witnessing that precious connection made my heart sing with the spring songbirds.
~Joy