Morning Meeting and Sap

Did you know that we have a meeting every Thursday morning at The Sportsman's Dinette in Willsboro, NY? If you don't believe me, check out the live video feed of the interior of the restaurant. We are the group of 5 in the corner- Sharp, Sarah, Scott, Stites and Erin- making important decisions effecting the future of the summer camp as well as outdoor ed. It was at one of these meetings that we decided that PMOEC would try to get involved in this year's maple syrup production at The 1812 Homestead. With Jack Swan's blessing, we have gone full tilt into it. I will admit I knew nothing about the practice when we began 2 weeks ago, and the taps that I recently found in some oak trees that look like sugar maples shows me that the learning curve for PMOEC staff members is also steep. Despite that, we ARE learning (that is the mission of our center anyway, right?). We have tapped 60+ trees, we have collected around 50 gallons of sap and today we boil. After all is said and done, we are hoping to produce enough syrup to have at our 'Last Drop Pancake Breakfast' in late April smothered in nothing but our homemade syrup. And one final apology to go out to Mother Nature- I am sorry that in my last blog post I suggested that winter was over. Thank you for the 2.5 feet of snow to remind me of your strength and power. I will never tempt your wrath again.

Winter Recap

Wow, the last few months flew by. It seems like only yesterday I was sitting here, getting ready to welcome 2011 and praying for more snow. Now, I am looking out my window at the 2+ feet of fluffy white still on the ground, hoping that the rain in the forecast over the next couple of days will bring the snow levels down to help with our sugaring season. Yes, winter is all but behind us here. We have had the most groups in recent history come and enjoy all the PMOEC has to offer in the darker months and every one of them, and I am not exaggerating, left happy. The staff, and I know I sound like a skipping record, was phenomenal all winter (as was mother nature, thankfully). And now, on to spring; mountain biking, canoeing and the wearing of shorts- oh my! We are hard at work planning community events of interest for all of our local supporters; ideas like a donation yard sale at Pok-O, our ever popular 1812 Open House, the retun of Yoga and hiking and another Art in Nature event. But more on these to come over the next few weeks. Look for our upcoming dpring edition of 'The Pok-O-Press' and follow us on our new facebook account. Perhaps you 'liked' us on the old one, but we have had to update. Check it out. By for now- and enjoy thid image from winter as spring descends.