Fortune Farms

I packed up the fam' this past weekend and drove into the Ottawa Valley for some good ol' fashioned sugar shack fun. It was a pretty fun time.

A modern operation: boiling sap away into maple syrup

The sugar shack we visited, Fortune Farms, doesn't have too many bells and whistles, like some other sugar shacks in the area, but they do a great job of explaining and showing you how maple syrup is made. They also dole out spoonfuls of free samples, which Margot and her cousin A appreciated.

Sampling the more traditional way to gather sap

The kids also appreciated the quasi-comedy routine a group of locals at the site, known as the "Kettle Boys", put on. Mostly it involves some cheesy jokes and the display some woodworking skills. Although I've heard the jokes before (Glosette Girl, Margot and I visited Fortune Farms last year ) there is a kindheartedness to them that makes it hard not to smile when you hear them.

Sigh! Every time I visit the countryside around Ottawa a part of me wants to stay a bit longer. Life just seems more peaceful there and parts that run up against the Canadian Shield are very pretty. My image of life in the country is probably an illusion and I know I made the right decision for my family to move to downtown Ottawa but still, visits like this make cause me to daydream...

Margot and A walking the trails on the property - note the sap lines in the trees!

Tough Cookies: Country Livin' Style? Haha, maybe not.