A Marvelous Messy Party and Maine Maple Sunday!!!!!

Maine Maple Sunday is always a fun day to get out and learn about (and of course *sample*) some of the great maple syrup made in the state. This year it was held on March 24th. We have gone to a couple different farms in the past (there is even a small Sugar House owned by my extended family). This year we ventured to Sidney, Maine to Bacon Maple Farm. 

Bacon Maple Farm is a six generation family owned operation. It started out as a dairy farm with Maple Syrup as a supplement, but it is now primarily Maple Syrup based. 

After waiting in a fairly fast moving line we got a get a tour of the sugar house. They have a truly efficient operation with all the members of the family involved in every part of the process. 

While waiting in line I met a man, never even got his name, but we chatted a lot about sugaring. He's got an operation of about 200 tree's. I laughed and told him we had 4 going right now, and that was *more* than enough for us. I wanted to show you his picture because that man right there..... he is a Mainer. He embodies Maine spirit to a tee. He waited the whole time in line, not to see the process, but to buy some sugaring supplies from the Bacon Farm store. 

 This man just keeps feeding the fire. And he's full of information.

On top of having some delicious vanilla ice cream with a dabble of maple syrup on top, they were also selling Maple Syrup Cotton Candy!!!! What an awesome idea. It was so  good. The tour led us right into their store (such a bright idea), where just about every size jug of maple syrup could be found, along with whoopie pies, sugaring supplies, maple candy, and I even saw some maple wine. The store was partly manned by some young entrepreneurs:

Who were also seen driving around the Kawasaki Mule with the collection tank in the back. 

That's Maine for you, right there. If you're lucky enough to be born into a farm family, you are part of that process from sun up to sun down. 

All in all, I was truly impressed with this sugaring operation. Bacon Maple Farm is the biggest one I've seen yet and it still maintains that charming family farm atmosphere. If you'd like to visit their website and learn more about them and the entire sugaring process, you can find them HERE.

They are also on FACEBOOK.

On the way back to the car we saw a Mallard and his mate sliding around on the ice, finding the holes where they could stick their beaks down and get something to eat. Spring is coming people!!!!!

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I also wanted to let you know who I'm going to be featuring on my sidebar for the next week for their project they added to my Marvelous Mess Party:

Nature Birds by An Idea on Tuesday

Congrats!!! Don't forget to grab my button on the sidebar!!!

Now, please do add your latest to the party!!!!!

A Marvelous Mess Party ~Link Up Your Crafts!!~ Maple Sugaring Tutorial

Spring is tumbling into Maine much faster this year and in response to it, we've all tumbled out the door in search of patches of grass, bulbs peeking through mulch, and lots more sunshine. With those warmer days (and still cool nights) comes my favorite part of spring.....Tapping the Maple Trees!!!!!

If you want to learn more about Sugaring, I've got a post from a while back about how we do it on a very small scale HERE.

We have had some awesome crafts linked up to the Marvelous Mess party.
Here are my fave's:

How To Make Grippy Socks from Brown Thumb Mama. What an awesome idea. Kids flying around on socks on hardwood floors tends to stress me out quite a bit. I would be so much more comfortable with them having these on!!! Thanks for sharing!!!!!

If I featured you, don't forget to grab a button from my sidebar and display it proudly!!! :-)

Now, on to the Party!!!!

Celebrity Strollers

We always want to know what the those celebrities are up to don't we? Well, in case you were interested, I've got a fun celebrity infographic about which strollers they've been spotted with. What I recommend more than anything, is checking with an organization like the JPMA (Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association)  www.jpma.org to make sure that the stroller has been certified by them, as they do some good testing on the products beforehand. If you are buying a travel system, I definitely recommend checking the ratings of the car seat at the International Institute for Highway Safety www.iihs.org..... just because a famous person uses a stroller doesn't necessarily mean that it is safe. Before buying any product for your child you should do your research and be fully informed on the safety of the item, ie: has it been certified, has it been recalled, is it recommended for my child's size?

Doily Art: Winter Snowflakes

What do you think of my doily snowflake art? 

I was inspired by an image on pinterest that came from the site WomenBeforeUs. Doily's truly have many snowflakes aspects to them, from the shape, the delicacy, and the patterns. I think they make beautiful winter decorations. 

If you'd like to make one, here's what you need:

White spray paint

Canvas

Doilies (found mine at Goodwill, .99 cents each!!!!!!)

Adhesive Spray

Lace ribbon (optional)

*Take the doilies and place them onto the canvas in the style you would like. I think having them partly on the canvas gives the art more depth (rather than just centered on it). Once you know where you want them, get the doilies ready..... trim them if needed but be careful, they are easy to unravel. 

*Spray Adhesive spray in the area where a doily will go and quickly place the doily on top. Repeat for the rest of the snowflakes.

*Once the adhesive has set, spray the entire piece with white spray paint, going over the snowflakes many times as they absorb the paint and have all sorts of hard to reach spots.

*When the paint is dry, hot glue some lace ribbon around the edges of the canvas. 

Enjoy!!!!!

I shared this post at THESE wonderful parties!!!!!

Wintery Weather??? Feed the Birds!!

We have got another snow storm coming tomorrow. We got about a 10 inches of snow over the weekend, and close to 2 feet a week before that. For this next storm, they are expecting 6-10" inches.....but who knows??? We are so lucky to have a warm house to nest in while we watch all this snow fall happening.

It's times like these that I think about all the animals outside and what they are doing during this snowy weather. 

Many animals have ways of adapting to snow. Deer and other antlered mammals can use their snouts and hooves to push the snow off the plants they need to eat, amphibians and reptiles slow their bodies down to conserve energy, and some animals just pick up and leave. 

I've worried about the birds that stay in Maine during the winter. Birds have layers of feather to help them retain heat during cold temperatures. Being more social can help them to survive as well..... huddling together in groups can keep them warm, and help them to find the best food. Providing food for birds during the winter can be extremely helpful and fun!!!!! The most recent craft I did at the library was making bird feeders. 

Kiwicrate

It's truly simple. All you need to do it get a bagel, spread peanut butter (or lard) over one side, press that side into a bowl of birdseed and then flip it over and repeat the process on the other side. Tie a string around  and put it up in a tree!!!

Once you start feeding birds, especially in winter, you really should provide a regular supply of food. If you don't, birds could use all of their energy to fly to your house and then find that there is nothing there. You will notice a lot of activity in the early morning, when they need to get their energy up after the cold night, and late in the day, when they are preparing for night time. High fat foods are the best options for birds in winter.