Hiking and sap gathering...

Pathway lined with moss-covered rocks remind me of The Hobbit, which we are still reading together.  It was very cold, but the sun shone and the skies were blue...

Snowdrops.  I don't know the names of the little yellow flowers, nor the pinkish or white ones...do you?

 The woodstove is hot...and boiler with sap turning into maple syrup...and a pile of wood. 

We met up with my sister's family and a couple friends from church.

Rowe Woods is in Milford, OH.  We helped gather sap and watch as they boil it down to maple syrup....and the best part was tasting it after!

Here are our pictures from our sap gathering in 2010.  It always reminds me of one of my favorite books:

"Laura and Mary each had a pan, and Pa and Ma showed them how to pour the dark syrup in little streams onto the snow."
- Little House in the Big Woods

I guess they switched from using metal buckets to plastic at Rowe Woods.  I'm not keen on the use of plastics.  I know it is not as food-safe as many have thought...and I don't want to take chances.
Learning as we live...we all have to take some chances and make choices.  
It's sure been a cold winter here in Ohio.  I hope it snows one more time!