Open House Situation

As of right now, the Open House tomorrow is still happening from 10-3. If the weather worsens, rain doesn’t look like it’ll quit, etc. and so on, Ranger Vin will make the call, put a message on the park phone by 8am and call me. I will in turn post something here, on Facebook, call the radio station, and so on. So here’s hoping the mess will pass through, now.

I would like to apologize in advance to any of you who don’t get to buy/taste our syrup. We have a bad sap run this year and made 1/2 of what we normally do. We do hope that when ours runs out at the Sugar Shack that you support our local sugar maker Clark and buy his syrup. He is a volunteer who regularly helps us out so Ranger Vin and I can be teaching the story of sugaring.

We will be pulling our taps and cleaning our equipment and sugar shack this week. Though a few others in our area are still getting the last drips from the trees, we need to get going on spring programming and summer nature camp plans. Some of our trees are showing signs of budding already too.

We hope to see you tomorrow.

Have a sweet sleep!

Leap Day Storm

Visitors from NC

Yesterday Ned and his wife and another couple came to visit us at the park all the way from North Carolina. (When they email me I’ll fill in their names too!) The two couples were on a road trip cruising New England. On their list was a visit to a sugar shack. Ranger Vin and I did our best to educate them though we weren’t boiling any syrup and had fun being their travel consultants for their CT part of the trip. We sent them off to a sugar shack in Woodbury selling syrup and Carmen Anthony’s Fishhouse there as well as one was hankering for lobster. They were headed for PA next so that’s why I didn’t send them back to all the places along the shoreline.

Sometimes, a Park Ranger and a Nature Educator do more than manage and teach. On any given day our jobs change and encompass a wide variety of tasks. I told Ranger Vinny that I’m now changing my job description to Tour Guide too.

I am not boiling today but will be tomorrow morning for the last class coming in to learn about sugaring and of course we’ll be boiling during the Open House on Saturday. Today I’m painting more signs and such for Saturday’s event.

Have a sweet day!

Raise the Roof Donations

….can be mailed to Friends of Brooksvale Park Inc. C/O  J. Traester – Treasurer, 156 Brooksvale Ave. Hamden CT 06518. Make checks payable to: FOB Inc. and in the memo portion of the check, write “Raise the Roof”. Thank-you!

Raise the Roof!

Thank you to KAREN of Hamden who made the FIRST donation to Raise the Roof at Brooksvale and help build the NEW ANIMAL BARN!

Monday Sugarin’

Will be at the sugar shack today teaching a class until 11am then not sure whether I can keep it open or not. Depends on whether Colin collected any sap at all yesterday and even if the trees start to flow today or not. It’s pretty cold out there right now. Ranger Vin is back from vacation and we have some catching up to do. We’re already getting requests for spring programming and summer pavilion rentals too. Though the winter has been mild, everyone’s ready for the next season – whatever it brings.

Don’t forget! Open House on Saturday from 10-3. We will sell our syrup (2 per customer) until it is sold out and then we will sell Bethany Gold from our sugarmaker friend Clark. His is just as good. Please support your local sugar makers.

Have a sweet day!

Short & Sweet

I am one tired sugarmaker tonight so I’ll keep this short and sweet. It was so much fun getting to meet Kris Park and her Brownie Troop. Each and every girl deserved the triad patch they received today for learning all about sugaring. And it was great to meet Rebecca Senzer and the Cub Scouts she brought to the park so they too could learn how to make sap from a tree into something good to eat! Not sure those little guys needed any more sugar (!) but they really listened well and deserved it.

I think we all enjoyed the warmth of the fire, the indoor portion of the workshop and of course, the maple syrup on the ice cream on this cold, blustery day. The sun was certainly welcome as it peeked out over and over again.

The afternoon was filled with visitors and I am sorry if any of you missed me while I was teaching the other group or Craig while he was taking care of the animals. Sometimes we do have to close the sugar shack windows when it’s so windy and for safety when one of us can’t be inside making sure little ones don’t wander in near a hot stove.

It was nice to meet so many of you who were first-timers like little Jeffery and his Mom and Dad who came into the sugar shack with old friends Deb, Rich and Zak. Zak is about a foot taller than I saw him last and oh, I also want t say “Hi” to Zak’s best buddy Kyle who visited me for the first time today.

Christiana her husband Jamie and their daughter Sasha visited again as well and I am SO thankful for their help and advice with our animals. Sasha was so patient while us grown-ups talked and I am so proud of how she cares about our bunnies so much like her Mom does. As she gave the bunnies little carrot treats it was fun to see the rabbits respond to her in different ways. Even the skittish ones are getting calmer.

Each one of you who come to the park to volunteer, learn, share your stories, play, visit and take part in our programs is just as special to me as the next. Without your involvement, care and concern, the park would not be the wonderful place it is and is becoming.

See you at the park again and have a sweet Sunday!
Ranger Kirsten (a.k.a. Tanta Kirsten)

 

 

A snowDAY at the Park!

SNOW!

Would you look at this snow outside! If you’re in Connecticut that is. It may help us a bit and slow down the sap flow, keeping it clear for this weekend and into next week. I guess this means I’ll catch up on phone calls, office work, cirruculum development, etc. at the park office once my husband gets the driveway cleared. In the meantime I’m making a double batch of blueberry muffins!

Have a sweet day!

Wintersprummer

I coined a new word today. Wintersprummer. It’s when the calendar says it’s still winter but weather has recently been like spring and the day gets so warm it feels like summer! Wintersprummer it was today at the park!

I got all the sap I collected boiled today thankfully with some afternoon volunteer help from Sean who stopped by on his day off. To take your day off and spend it stoking a fire and boiling sap is true dedication. That man is going to get some sweet syrup for his efforts for sure!

I also had a visitor named Chris who is very interested in learning about sugaring and received a thorough  though oft interrupted lesson. Thanks for your patience Chris! Oh, and for you help with the lettering project at the Veterans’ Memorial Building too!

It was really a gorgeous day today and though the sap was flowing slowly (hopefully we can collect more tomorrow) I had so much fun watching and talking to all the folk who stopped by. Lily, it was nice to meet you and your Dad (whose name I forgot) and hope to see you at the park more in the future. Thanks for the kind words about how the park is looking so good and I hope you continue to enjoy your new hometown.

Eddie, Bennie & Mike were busy making base (as in baseball) anchors today near the barn and Frank, C. Vin and Frank P. were up at the building continuing some improvement projects there. I also took a walk over to the picnic glade where an Eagle Scout has been feverishly working away with a team of volunteers to reclaim that area that had begun to look like a tropical forest. Wow! What a difference. Can’t wait to see it all done.

Ranger Vin is taking some vacation time with his family this week. I think we can safely say the park is in good hands.

Have a sweet evening!