It is Spring!

For over a week now it has been sunny and - relatively - warm. By which I mean about 10 degrees during the day while a few days even made it up around 15 degrees. The locals assure us this is insanely good weather for March, saying that often there will still be snow on the ground well into April. None the less, it is definitely spring out there and there are two recent events that prove it.

Firstly, the Sugar Shack Attack

With the onset of spring, maple sap has started to flow in the trees and 'sugar shack' season has begun. A sugar shack is a rural property that taps their own maple trees, makes their own maple syrup and of course runs a pancake house. They also offer sleigh rides and other kinds of fun like face painting and (in this case) a pair of very relaxed Labradors for the kids to adore. There are many sugar shacks in our area. We went to Fulton’s Pancake House, about an hour away. True to form the GPS took us there and back via differing scenic routes. Once there, everybody had a yummy pancake lunch (some of us even had maple toffee) and the kids had a great time playing outside. The sleigh ride through the forest was very pleasant. The trees had all been tapped and the tubing running through the forest made the whole place look like it was being vigorously flossed.

And secondly, everybody here knows that winter ends with a BANG! No really. An Earth shattering Ka-Boom! even. Check it out…

LINKY

That bridge and river is all of two blocks from our house. That bridge is one of the ones Jane walks over ever morning on her way to work. We spent Saturday morning wondering what was causing that semi-regular booming noises until Jane went forth to investigate. And soon after she came running home to get everybody else to come and watch them blowing up the river. BOOM!

All this sent some rather large chunks of ice floating down to the falls and into the big river, where the little ice breaking boat was hard at work keeping the channel clear.