Springtime = SUGAR SHACK!

I am so pleased I was feeling well enough today to go and visit Stanley's Olde Maple Lane Farm. I had been there with J before, but this time we brought Daddy and Shannon with us. DH has never visited a sugar bush before. Poor deprived person. I have had the pleasure of visiting several at different points in my life and love the experience. Stanley's is what I would call the Cadillac version of a sugar shack. It is fairly commercialized, but they do give you the whole experience. They also specialize in weddings and events the rest of the year and I'm sure they do a booming business outside of maple syrup season!

We had such a beautiful day today, we hit 25 degrees, it was like summer! We stripped off our jackets mid-morning and were able to just enjoy the sunshine with no bugs! We did see the odd wasp, but they were still pretty dopey and not at all aggressive. Give it a few more weeks and it will be completely different.

We started the day with their buffet breakfast, pancakes, french toast, belgian waffles, sausage, ham, frittata Y.U.M.! We followed up with a wagon ride around the property, had the pleasure of seeing and hearing cardinals, blue jays, robins and probably a hundred birds I wouldn't recognize the sound of. Our horses Judy and Erica were very gentle and our wonderful driver let J sit up front with him and handle the reins with him. J was so excited when the horses went to a faster pace, he thought he was doing it, well, our driver was letting him think that anyway. Afterwards, we let our little man run some of his breakfast off at their playground, which is dated, but cute and has a nice long slide! Taffy on the snow, let me just say that I haven't eaten enough of that pure sugar treat in my life. Some don't like the sticky sweetness, but it's right up my alley! Don't try to pick it off your teeth, it will melt eventually! They show you their original boiler for maple syrup although it would be illegal to sell products made in there, lead lined systems like this one were banned long ago, but they still operate it to show the history of maple syrup making. We skipped the barn, the smells are too overwhelming for J so we didn't push it. He saw some animals from afar, like the pot-bellied pig Wilbur, some cows hanging out in their enclosure, and he enjoyed the ride with the horses as well.

When we got home we knew it was a great day, because he fell asleep on the couch for a couple of hours. When my no-napper naps, we call the day a success!

Thanks to Stanley's, see ya next year!