Outdoor Mamas

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Comment by Amy on March 19, 2009 at 6:42pm

What a fun thing to do! My kids would love to do something like this. Thanks for the info and maybe someday I can try this.

Comment by Sharlene on March 19, 2009 at 11:44am

What a neat idea! We don't have alot of sugar maples in Orange County, CA so I won't be doing that this year but if I am ever in New England this time of year I really would love to try it!

Comment by Jewel on March 19, 2009 at 9:10am

That sounds like fun! I don't think it is anything I will be doing anytime soon ;)....but it sounds just like something we would do if we could!

Comment by Karrie McAllister on March 19, 2009 at 9:05am

Amy, making maple syrup at home is really very easy. You have to first learn to ID maple trees, get a few taps and bags, and that's all you really need. There are a lot of web sites that give you step by step instructions that I'm sure can explain it better than I can, but we tap our trees when the nights are below freezing and the days are above 40. That's the best time for sap to flow. We collect quite a bit and then just sit outside and boil it all down. The ration, i believe, is 40 gallons of sap to 1 gallon of syrup. We used to use our turkey deepfryer (!) but have since upgraded a little...but not much.
I usuall finish it in the stove so I can watch the temperature. I think the syrup needs to be at 219 or 220 degrees. Then we can it and go make pancakes!!

Comment by Amy on March 18, 2009 at 9:31pm

Karrie-can you tell me a little more about backyard sugaring??? I live in Oklahoma and don't think I've ever heard of anyone being able to make thier own maple syrup. Something I would love to try!

Finally, a little Spring weather, just in time for Spring Break!

Comment by Karrie McAllister on March 17, 2009 at 7:49pm

Oh my gosh, Jewel, the memories are flowing! I'm of Polish hertitage so I'm remembering the day I dressed up like a little Polish girl and sang some ridiculous song. And more fondly, the year we did France adn we all dressed up like grapes (think: purple baloons tied all over) and we changed the words to "I heard it through the grapevine" to be all about french culture. What fun...
We spent most of last weekend boiling down our maple syrup. I should post pictures-- anyone else ever do backyard sugaring? And this week I'm swamped with 'real' work. I do web design and graphic design for a pretty cool publication, Mom Writer's Literary magazine. Please check us out! www.momwriterslitmag.com
But dolmathes sound wonderful, even on this day of corned beef an cabbage. :)

Comment by Jewel on March 17, 2009 at 6:41pm

Thanks Amy and Donna! I appreciate it! So what are you guys up to this week? It is starting to warm up....I know it is good news for you guys, kind of stinky for us down here. It won't be long before I am jealous of you guys!

This weekend I am not camping for a change! But we have Girl Scouts Thinking Day (Karrie...did you guys have a celebration for that when you were a Girl Scout?) and our country is Greece. So Thursday night I will be rolling up 150 dolmathes or stuffed grape leaves. Oh Joy! (I will probably have to roll more so I can freeze some for the house too!)

Comment by Donna E on March 15, 2009 at 3:16pm

I'm already jealous we won't get to hike & camp for awhile still,but I enjoy hearing your stories! Karrie,that's a cute name! I'm known for singing to,but my oldest is always telling me to stop! He asks me who sings a song really or originally I'll tell him & he'll say let's keep it that way ok?!!! Luckily my wee folks still enjoy my singing! LOL
Jewel your site is great.

Comment by Amy on March 13, 2009 at 4:11pm

Hi Jewel. I love your website! I can't wait to look around it. Lots of good info!

Comment by Jewel on March 13, 2009 at 1:27pm

Thanks Karrie (ughh...I haven't left yet!) I plan on having some pages with campfire songs and stories...I will look to you for some submissions then!!! LOL...we are diehards with the campfires too..we have a dutch oven table...which we use in our suburban backyard to build fires to make s'mores even during the summer!

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