I was unable to post last night because I was wandering around a decaying estate and being spooked at every turn. In other words, I was shivering in my bed and finishing up The Little Stranger by flashlight. Had I not been so consumed by the gothic tale, I would have shared our weekend adventure. I'll do it now, but I'll be the first to say that this is all rather bland... it's like checking in to a Marriott after having been guests at the Bates Motel...
Anywho, we went to Jersey. At The Great Swamp Outdoor Education Center there was a sweet maple tapping program. There were crafts and science tables (group the seeds according to how they disperse -- hitchhiking, eating/excreting, blowing, etc.), maple-flavored treats, and then the education walk. With our fun and knowledgable guide we walked through the trees and learned first how the Lenape Indians made granulated sugar ("Who knows what tribe of native people lived here? Nobody? Fourth-grade teachers are weeping right now..." I actually thought: if The Boy retains this fact we might actually get ahead...), and then how the settlers came and made syrup, and how both small and large farms tap and process today. By the way, I didn't know that there weren't honeybees here until the British brought them. The Girl knew this fact. I really received a subpar education.
I would write so much more right now about the theories regarding how maple syrup was discovered, etc... but I can't keep my eyes open. I'm getting too old to stay up late engrossed in ghost stories... this fatigue has been haunting me all day.
