Apparently it’s spring. I’m not so sure, because it’s kind of cold and it’s supposed to snow on Friday. Up to 15 centimeters. In April. I believe the proper term for this is icky. The yuckyness is bad for people, but good for maple syrup. Maple syrup is made by boiling the sap from the sugar maple. The sap flows best when it’s not too warm.
Last Friday, I went to the sugar bush with my students. I will be honest here, I didn’t want to go. I was feeling sick and the idea of spending the day with small people eating lots of sugar was not appealing. It actually turned out to be a very nice day, so I whined for nothing. (Because I did whine about going, to anyone who would listen.)
I’ve been staying away from sugar, but I figured a little maple taffee wouldn’t hurt. Ha! I almost went into a diabetic coma. I ate a few bites and had to throw it away. It was, however, pretty funny to watch the kids eat it. It was melting off the popsicle sticks faster than they could eat it. They were sticky beyond belief. Like, I love you but don’t touch me, sticky.
Speaking of don’t touch me, while most of the kids were standing around, eating their taffee, kids from my class were rolling around in the mud. I tried to pretend they weren’t mine, but no one else would claim them. So they were pretty dirty, on top of being sticky. Lovely.
Here are some photos of my sugary, sticky, muddy day. The baby goat is my favourite.
The Bliss Project 
This brings back such memories – I grew up in Quebec, so a visit to the sugar cabins every year was pretty much mandatory!
I live in Québec, and I grew up going every year as well. Not usually with a bunch of small, sticky people, but it was still a great day!
My grandparents are maple producers, so we have a sugar shack at our house and our constantly around all of the sugary yumminess. We use syrup in EVERYTHING (instead of sugar).
My family also has a sugar bush (not the one where I went with my students) so every year, there is a sugar shack party, where we eat maple everything! I love using maple syrup instead of sugar, it just tastes so much better! Right now, I’m staying away from added sugar, but I’ve been eating a little bit of maple syrup in my oatmeal every now and then, to satisfy my sweet tooth!