Boiling Sap

We are boiling sap today. We got a new pan to boil in, from Uncle Eddie, so it looks kind of strange on our tiny burners. Here are some pictures.

By Wayne

Happy Easter

Hope you all have a wonderful Easter Sunday!

Maple Sugar Candy

Every once in a while, Wayne wants to make maple candy.

 We haven't made any syrup yet this year, so we used some left over from last year.

 This is the recipe we used (above) but we didn't shape it into leaves, we just poured it in a dish and cut squares.

 Heating any sugar to any certain temperature always makes me nervous. It's so fussy - miss the mark by even a couple of degrees and everything goes wrong. We've had that experience before and it's very disappointing.

 Luckily, everything worked perfectly this time and the results were heavenly!

Snowshoeing in the Woods

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago. Heather and I took advantage of a beautiful, warm day to get out into the woods on snowshoes.

 It was her idea to bring some snacks and drinks. She packed a backpack for the two of us all by herself. It was also her idea to head to the "fort" for our snack picnic.

 Heading back home we had to shed our jackets, because despite all the snow,  the temperatures were actually pleasantly springlike.

Heather Lost a Tooth!

She's been waiting a long time and it finally happened. On Monday, March 18, at the age of 6, Heather lost her first tooth.  Thank goodness, because she (and it) had been driving us all crazy for weeks. She'd spent a lot of her spare time wiggling it and gauging its looseness day by day, speculating when it would fall out, how much money she would get from the tooth fairy, and complaining that she was the last kid in her class to lose a tooth.  Mrs. Dudley said that it had occupied a lot of time and attention in kindergarten as well. So, now that it's finally come out, we can all relax and life can get back to normal. 

She had a dental check-up a week prior to losing the tooth and he gave her the keychain above. It's a little container for keeping the tooth in, in case it comes out at school.  She was actually laying on the living room floor, wiggling the daylights out of it when it finally came out. She wrote the tooth fairy a letter, asking to keep the tooth, but to please leave some money anyway.

You can see the big tooth coming in behind the space.  It's very big. The dentist even said, "Don't be alarmed when they come in..."  Dental x-rays show lots of huge teeth ready to come into a small mouth. Good-bye perfect, straight, little, white teeth. 

Hello orthodontist.

Happy Birthday, Jedi Joan

Jedi Joan

Joanie Wan Kenobi

Happy Birthday Joanie. May the Force be with you.

Creativity by Wayne.

Sunday Morning Breakfast

Wayne is getting into the habit of making pancakes for Sunday morning breakfast. He does it almost entirely by himself and even cleans up afterwards (with just a little nagging from me)!

 Flipping was a bit trial and error at first, but he quickly got the hang of it.

Cole was still in bed, but we saved him some.  Wes had pancakes with the rest of us, but as he had not taken his shower yet, he was not "photo ready."

Ice Fishing Field Trip

Cole's third grade class had a field trip .  I took Friday off, to I tag along and learn a lot. There are only 7 kids in the class, but the Northwoods Stewardship Center donated a full size bus. I was the only parent chaperoning, so it was a nice chance to get to know Mrs. Tester a little better.

First stop was the Northwoods Stewardship Center. It's kind of a long bumpy ride on the school bus, so the first thing our guide, Maria Young, had the kids do was play a couple of games outside and run around a bit. 

When all the wiggles were out, it was inside to do some learning.

The kids learned about wildlife preservation and more specifically learned a lot about salmon. I never knew that salmon find their way all the way to Greenland to spawn before returning to their home waters.

There were also many questions about this giant moose. He was not a native Vermonter. He was shipped in from Alaska. Or rather, his head was.

Bear scat...

Casting of a bear print

Eagle talon

Next, Maria met us in Island Pond for some ice fishing. We learned how to set up this contraption called a tip-up.

Each kid had a turn drilling a hole in the 16 inches of ice with this auger.

The pond was very busy with ice fishermen and speeding snow machines.

Before we started, Marie said that she had never caught a fish  with a group of school kids.  Today was a lucky day. This group caught 4 perch.

Taking a break to roast some marshmallows over the open fire.

They also showed us how to fish with this short pole called a jigger.  

One of the most exciting moments of the day, according to Cole:

A group picture before we board the bus to return home. Mrs. Tester is on the left in a dark hat and sunglasses. Maria Young is in the middle with sunglasses. Sadly, I do not remember the names of the 3 guys in the back, but they were very nice, helpful, and patient with the silliness of these 7 third graders.

Feeling Better

We were all happy to say good-bye and good riddance to January. We didn't have a single healthy day all month long.  Whenever February starts, I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It's a short month, the days begin to get longer, and spring starts next month. Although, I have to admit, that last year, February was out "sick" month. As I write this, we are being pounded by a snow storm, but as long as we're all feeling better, I'll take it. My class for tomorrow has been cancelled, so we will have some time to play in the snow and get some much needed fresh air.

This amaryllis was a Christmas present. Since I took this picture, it has produced three more blooms. It really brightens up our dining area.

Heather writes a letter to her cousin. I won't say who - maybe you can see in the picture.

Last Sunday was a beautiful day. We had previously had some very warm rainy days, and then some very cold days with just a dusting of snow. Wayne, Heather and I went to the pond and scraped the dusting off to find perfectly smooth ice underneath. (Cole was snowshoeing with Joanie.) It was a sunny day and we spent all afternoon skating. These pictures were taken after the sun had dipped below the tree line.

Just a couple of short skating videos.

And for a good laugh, go back in time 3 years and check out this old skating video.

Skating Video 2009