Maple Syrup Festival

Last Saturday, LKM, myself and 2 friends went to a Maple Syrup Festival. This festival was actually organized by LKM's Uni, but not so many students signing up, so we ended up driving there by ourselves. The weather was pretty cold (unexpectedly, it was below 0'C again) on that day, somehow we were enjoying and had lots of funs. This were new experience we learned regarding tapping the maple syrup tree:

• Native American living in the nothern part of America, were the first people known to have produced maple syrup.
• It is harvested by tapping the tree through the bark and into the wood, the sap then will flow into the plastic bag or bucket.
• Maple tree can only be tapped during the spring and fall season @ freezing temperature at night and above freezing temperature in the day time. why? due to the pressure factor.
• Maple tree doesn't like hot summer. =p
• 40 gallons of sap collected will only produces 1 gallon of maple syrup. (so, do not waste any syrup when you go to IHOP!)
• How do you know if the maple tree is OK to tap? at least 10" of diameter for the tree.
• Is vanila ice-cream+hot maple syrup taste good? Absolutely yes!!!!!

This is how the sap is collected, reminds me of the rubber tree in M'sia =p

Another way of collecting sap from the stronger tree, you can see the plastic bucket hanged everywhere.

Bear with my 2.0 megapixel cellphone. This taught us a lesson that, always charge the camera battery if you know you need to go out for any activity. ><"

Someone is enjoying the ice-cream!

Heated iron bar as souvenir for kids!

Last but not least, the vanila ice-cream + hot maple syrup. I am not the big fans for vanilla flavour ice-cream, but this was the BEST one I ever had. BRAVO~