Sweet Season and Sweet Finds

It's that time of year. The sugar maples are giving up their sap that will be turned into the number one pancake topping maple syrup. Taking a drive last week we came upon many of those familiar buckets, hanging in front yards and along roadsides. Many people just make enough for their use and others have huge commercial operations. At our house we go through a couple of quarts yearly, not only for pancakes but also for cooking. Baked beans, chili, stews and in various baked goods. Oatmeal's best friend is maple syrup. Local is best, but imports will do quite nicely. Get away from supermarket maple flavor stuff.

I checked out a few new blue lines. They look promising but will not know for sure until I fish them, which will be soon.

The east branch of the Eight Mile river is free flowing. The dam at Ed Bill's pond has been removed and restored. The dam removal opens up the river to new spawning grounds to many fish species including trout.