Happy Windsday

i heart smiles

especially the one my baby girl offers when she's posing for the camera.

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What's doin' the bloomin'?

We have a book by that name that we purchased back when we were park rangers for the National Park Service. We like to pull it out every Spring to learn a new plant or two. Just think - if you did that ever single year, how many you'd know without a whole lot of effort!

I love exploring in the woods with the kids and being able to name the plants for the kids. We record new things in our Nature 365 Journal and track the changing seasons. There's no doubt that Spring 2010 is warmer than average and the result is earlier blooms. Normally I don't take portraits of the kids by the crab apples until later in May like last year and the year before that.

This evening we armed ourselves with some bribes new garage sale toys, carob chips (healthier than chocolate chips) and a few outfits and headed off to see what was doin' the bloomin'....


Funny thing is, as pretty as the scenery was, I couldn't take my eyes off these two cuties!

Wordless Wednesday - Cheers!

on the upswing

I'm in a good place right now and I wanted to make sure I took a moment to write about what it feels like. To be able to provide for my family, to hear "I love you all the way out of space Mommy", to be healthy, to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, to be filling my soul with His Word, and to be loved by the man I married almost 9 years ago.


We had a lovely Easter weekend and this weekend is proving to be just as lovely, albeit a little quieter with no school program or family gatherings.

Our 2nd annual review and house inspection is behind us as of this past Wednesday. Can you believe we've been here in the park for 2 years already? Seems like only yesterday that God led us down this path. Not a day goes by that I don't think of how He's provided for our family by blessing us with this life. We've recently purchased a new vacuum and a steam cleaner that make cleaning this big ol' house easier to clean. We can finally play on the floor without getting covered in white dog hair. I can't tell you how GREAT that feels! For 12 YEARS we've had to deal with dog hair and now our vacuum sucks it all right up.

Yes, life is on the upswing.


Spring is here. The grass is green. There aren't any bugs yet. Life is good.

Yes, life is on the upswing!



There are two family weddings in the next few months and my grandma celebrates her 90th birthday in April. I am so blessed to have two wonderful families!

















Yes, life is on the upswing...



...and Julia isn't the only one with a smile on her face in BearCountry!

How to make maple syrup

Want to learn how maple syrup is made? Then follow Julia to the sugar bush. Our almost three and a half year old is turning into quite the little hiker these days.








On the hike we'll talk about signs of Spring and before long we'll spy the red buckets that dot the low spot on the Prairie Trail where the trees have been tapped this season.









Tapping maple trees only takes about 10% of the tree's sap and can be done year after year in healthy trees.

What trees should you pick?
They should be at least 40 years old and 18-24 inches in diameter



How much sap can you get from one tree in a season? It varies, from 10-20 gallons.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's go back to where it all starts...the previous year. When the botany terms I haven't thought of since college come back to me like...

Photosynthesis (the process of converting light energy to chemical energy and storing it in the bonds of sugar)

And Chlorophyll (the molecule that absorbs the sunlight and
turns into a sugar (sap), otherwise known the plant's fuel that then travels through the veins in the leaves.)

In the Fall when the trees are dropping their leaves and preparing for winter, the sugar (sap) travels deep down into the tree's roots until the Spring thaw gets it moving again.

We watch patiently for signs of when the sap is ready to start flowing.
Signs:
1) the temperature gets above freezing during the day, but dips below freezing at night (anytime the temp is above freezing for more than 36 hours in a row the flow stops)

2) When the woodpeckers start pecking at the trees. Why you ask? Because when the sap starts flowing, it awakens the bugs that were hibernating behind the bark all winter. Woodpeckers can hear them moving. Pretty amazing don't you think?

I'm sure there are other ways to tell when the sap is about to run, but these are the two I know of.

This year the sap started to run on March 19th. It will be interesting to track the variation in start times in our Nature 365 Journal.

To collect the sap a small hole is drilled into the tree in order to collect the sap using a five gallon bucket and some special tubing that comes from a supply company that our park orders from. A lid is secured on top to keep out debris and to deter animals.


On the evening we hiked to the sugar bush the buckets were 1/3 of the way full. I'm pretty sure they had been emptied in the morning.

See how clear the sap is? It looks and tastes pretty much like water.
That's because it is mostly water. It's only 3% sugar.

By the time it's made into syrup it will be 66% sugar. But I'm getting ahead of myself again.



While we're out in the sugar bush I like to tell the story of how the Native Americans discovered maple syrup. The story goes that a warrior got up one morning, retreived his hatchet from the tree he had stuck it into the night before and left a gash in the tree. He went on his merry way and all morning and afternoon sap dripped out of the tree into a birchbark basket that happened to be positioned below. A woman saw what she thought was water in the basket and added it to their evening meal. When the warrior asked what made the stew so sweet they figured out that it wasn't water she had added but sap from the tree that had cooked down over the fire all day, getting sweeter by the hour.


Speaking of sweet, our little tour guide is ready to take everyone back to the syrup shack and see how we cook sap the modern way. Strap on your pack and follow Julia....












Aaaaaaaaand....we're back....
(If only the kids hiked that fast in real life!)

At the Syrup Shack the sap is transferred from the Gator tank back into five gallon buckets.

When this photo was taken on March 20th there wasn't a whole lot of sap yet...especially compared to last year.

Inside the shack is an evaporator where the sap is poured to begin the cooking process. This evaporator is fueled by wood. The sap cooks for hours and hours (18+ usually) before it is transferred to a finishing pan that is propane so the temperature can be more precise.

This is the point that I like to point out just how much sap it takes to make syrup. See that five gallon bucket? It will yield 2 ounces of syrup. Now you know why you pay $9 for a bottle of real maple syrup!

Sap is cooked to about 219 degrees...usually. Air pressure will affect when water boils so a barameter is used to make sure the syrup is cooked correctly.

The final test of whether the syrup is cooked enough is to test its density. This is done using a hydrometer. A little syrup is scooped into this metal tube (there are two red lines on the hydrometer that the edge of the tube should fall in the middle of.) If the hydrometer sinks too low it means that the syrup is too thin and could ferment also the sugar content isn't high enough so the syrup won't taste as good.

If the hydrometer floats too high then it means that the syrup is too thick and it will chrystalize. I think you can solve this problem by transferring some syrup from the evaporating pan, but I'm not certain. We are not involved in the actual production - only the education side of it.


When the syrup is at the proper temperature it is run through a filter (think giant coffee filter) to remove debris. A canner is used to preserve the syrup safely and then it is poured into the little bottles you can see here.

Time will tell how long our season lasts this year since it started a little later than usual. There are some years when the trees don't share any of their sap. If it warms up too fast and never gets below freezing again, then the buds will come out on the tree and the window on syruping is closed. Syrup made after the buds appear tastes like burnt bacon. So I'm told.



And that folks is the last drop of knowledge I have on how to make maple syrup!

Mommy & Me Monday

Lindsay posted a Mom and me post today and since Booksmart is moving S.L.O.W.E.R than the sap in our maple trees I have 30 -60 seconds between every single change I make to a 440 page book I'm editing....now is a perfect time to add these pictures of the kids and I from last night. We pulled our puddle boots out of the closet and went in search of the ooy-gooey mud.




We found it.













And we played and played.







Want to find some motivation to get out from behind the camera? Check out more Mommy and Me posts over at Krystyn's blog:

Hosted by Krystyn

Scenic Sunday - Landscape Arboretum

My tulips are just starting to come up but we are thankful that they are at least starting to make their appearance. These beautiful purple flowers (and many others) grow at the nearby landscape arboretum - and were the inspiration for a header I had for a little while last year....
These pictures remind me of the newness of our life here in the park - the promise of new and exciting things ahead. Our grass is turning greener by the minute and the new camping season is almost upon us. No matter how busy life gets, there is always time to stop and smell the roses tulips.

(Head over to Miti's blog to see other scenic sunday posts)

Random Picture Challenge #7

Brittany has a few options for this week's random picture challenge. You can click here to get the specifics on how to play along. I went with the 42nd picture in my April 2008 folder(s). For some reason I have a bunch of pictures from April 1st in a smattering of folders so I counted my way to the 42nd photo and came up with this:

It's one of many I took that day and wrote about here. The kids can still wear their puddle boots from last year, but I'll be on the lookout for new ones when PapaBear and I hit 100 garage sales this coming week.

On a side note...I've felt so out of touch with blogging as of late that I thought that rather than falling off the face of the earth I would repost some of my favorite posts and/or some of the ones that might fill in the gaps for those of you who are new to Bear Country... What I'll do is put the links in a tweet (see left side of my blog). I've finally started making my own blog book and realize how fun it is to walk down memory lane. Even if nobody else cares to read the posts, I know it will be good for me to look back at the work God has done in our lives.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Syrup Shack

The sap is running in Bear Country. I'm no expert, but I did learn a thing or two about Maple Syruping. Does anyone else out there make their own syrup? I'd love to hear from you if you do!







Anyone want to know how the sap get into the tank and the how it turns into...






















...this?

See Ya!

Goodbye Winter!



Hello Spring!


Today may be the first day of Spring, but here in Bear Country we're at risk for snow well past today. Remember the first day of Spring last year? This is what we woke up to Easter Sunday.

4 the love of seasons

The following was originally meant to be posted last week when it was still super cold out. We've made it to the 20's now and people are coming out in droves to ski now. I rented over 40 pairs of skis yesterday compared to the typical 15.

The mercury appears to be taking up permanent residence in the bottom of the thermometer so I thought it would be fun to remind myself why exactly I love living here even when we're stuck in an 80+ hour stretch of sub zero temps.

Winters are long here so even with the sun setting we have to take advantage of the 'warm' days that we get from time to time.


Eventually Spring will take hold and the fruit trees will distract us from any lingering memory of Winter.


Next comes my least favorite season of all - Summer. Why don't I like Summer? Because I melt whenever it gets above 70. Just ask my college roommate, Sarah, who had to huddle under her blankets while I had my window open to cool off (and that was in the Fall and Spring!)

There are times when it's OK for the weather to be hot, like when we're at a friend's cabin for four days. Then I don't mind a bit.

My favorite season of all? Autumn.
Cool, crisp temperatures and colors like this.

Do you live where the seasons change? Which is your favorite?

A breath of fresh air

For the first time in six months it's warm enough to open the windows. 'Bout time!

just a walk in the park

I pray with all my heart that Sam and Julia only the remember the good parts of these last few days (and weeks) - like our walk to the park this afternoon or our half birthday party for Julia yesterday.
I pray they don't remember how short my temper has been or the lack of organized mealtimes for the past two months.
We've had so much on our plates in the last year that I feel like I'm constantly in survival mode. I don't handle survival mode well. It makes me moody, short tempered, irritable...you get the idea. I thought selling our house would ease our load, but all it did was create a different problem. Now that we've found a place to live I'm learning just how difficult it is to pack with two little kids demanding my attention. Every day I scour the web looking for a better job for Brian but after searching for months, nothing has come up. I know this is going to come off like I'm complaining and I probably shouldn't even post it, but I want to keep this blog real, our life sure is, and believe me - it's not always a walk in the park. We have seen what God can do when we lean on Him so that's what we'll continue to do. We can check one thing off our never ending to-do list and that's buy a second vehicle. We raided a savings account so we could pay cash for a little 97 Honda Civic. I can't tell you how nice it will be to not have to wake the kids with only a moments notice in order to drive Brian to work, to not have to be trapped in this house on the days Brian takes the van to work, to be able to efficiently run errands and meet up with friends and family instead of missing out on events. We sold our first Civic two weeks after Sam was born and considering he'll be 3 1/2 on the 13th, we made it a looong time with only one vehicle.

I know in the grand scheme of things that our lives are easy. That's probably part of the reason my heart is so heavy this week. Reading the blogs of Nathan, Hilary, and Angie puts everything in perspective. Please take a moment to lift these families up in prayer. I know I do every time my blood pressure starts to rise.