The North Hadley Sugar Shack is owned an operated by the Boisvert family. In addition to harvesting sap from all over the Pioneer Valley, they also operate a breakfast restaurant/country store that features products produced on local farms.
We started our field trip out with a guided tour of the farm given by Joe Boisvert, one of the brothers who owns the farm. Joe showed us several different types of maple taps and buckets in action. He also showed us the giant storage tanks where the sap waits to be boiled down into Maple Syrup. 
We learned that once the trees start to produce buds, the sugaring season is over. The trees need the sap to produce leaves, and the sap takes on a bitter flavor once the buds appear. Since our field trip coincided with a batch of unseasonably warm weather, we just missed seeing the sap being boiled down in the Sugar Shack's wood fired evaporator. Of course, the advantage of this was that we could get a good close look at the evaporator without having to contend with fire, steam, and boiling syrup!
After we toured the evaporator room, Joe asked if anyone would like a little cup of maple syrup to taste. Now take a moment to imagine the response one might get if they asked a group of three year olds if they wanted to drink maple syrup...
...Lets just say, they were into the idea!
After our tour, we said goodbye to Joe and headed over to the restaurant for a pancake snack. We have no photos from this portion of the trip, as the grown ups were busy cutting up pancakes and fulfilling the many requests for "more syrup!"
Now that the kids were all jacked up on Maple Syrup, we headed out to the "Animal Village" portion of the farm. The Boisverts keep a small flock of extremely friendly goats and sheep on hand to entertain small guests. The Frogs were more than happy to feed them large handfuls of hay and to groom them with brushes. We did, however, draw the line at kissing the goats. (yes, someone tried....)
Overall, the consensus was that this was a great field trip. We are so fortunate to live in a part of the country that produces so many agricultural products. Curriculum that shows children in a direct, hands on kind of way where their food comes from is a powerful way to plant the seeds of environmental stewardship. Next, we hope to plan a field trip to Mapeline Farms to see where the milk we drink at snack time comes from. Stay tuned for details!
We kept a close eye on it, adding sap throughout the day...
We poured it into a jar...
...and realized that it was a bit too thick to be considered "syrup". It's more of a cross between Honey and Maple cream. It's still delicious, though! 
