Wednesday 26 April 2017

Beautiful wrap around porch, and the view is breathtaking.






So we visited Killarney Ontario last summer and were amazed at the beauty of the area. On our way from having a fish fry on the docks we came across this wonderful little house with wrap around porch. It was beautiful. Then we turned to see the view from the porch ...







Wednesday 12 April 2017

We made our own Maple Syrup this year !

About 15 years ago I planted 2 Maple Trees. A Sugar Maple in the front yard and an Autumn Blaze (mix of Red and Silver Maple) in the Back yard. Finally they are both over 10" diameter which means I could start tapping them for sap. I used hollowed out Sumac branches as taps / spiles and tapped them when the daytime temperature started to climb above 10 degrees celsius and dropped to -10 celsius at night....

The sap ran for about 2 weeks and we collected about 5 gallons of Sap (20 quarts) .... I ordered a 4 quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven from Amazon for about $ 33 and do far I have boiled 24 cups (6 quarts) of Sap down to 2 cups of Maple Syrup.  So I still have lots of Syrup to make.

Texsport Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Legs  $33   http://amzn.to/2o7mnU7

I think this is going to be an annual practice and we will make our own Maple Syrup each year.

Tuesday 4 April 2017

Making Maple Syrup with the Kettle Boys at Fortune Farms in Almonte Ontario






"A visit to Fortune Farms is not complete without a trip up the trail to see the Kettle Boys. This team of four interesting characters make maple syrup in the traditional pioneer method using iron kettles over open fires. To amuse themselves and visitors while they are waiting for the sap to slowly boil to syrup they have a variety of toys and games. They are only too pleased to share their activities with visitors, especially children." -  https://fortunefarms.ca/