maple syrup... plus a walk around washington crossing park

On Saturday we went to the Howell Living History Farm and learned all about how maple syrup is made. Did you know that it takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallons of syrup? I even got to taste the sap right from the tap on the tree... tastes like sugar water.  We wondered all around visiting the sheep, cows, and horses. We watched children grind corn to make corn meal and try to saw off the end of a tree. We ate lunch at the main farmhouse which included hot dogs and yummy... but definitely sweet, vanilla cupcakes with maple syrup frosting. 

After the farm we went to Washington Crossing Park.  This is the area where Washington crossed the Delaware river and marched to Trenton for a surprise attack during the Revolutionary War. Along the path there are gravestones of unknown soldiers,  a house that was turned into a makeshift hospital during the war time, and picturesque sites of the Delaware river. 

The tombs of unknown soldiers

Other happenings of our weekend include a wonderful dinner date with some amazing friends at our favorite greek restaurant,  eating ice cream while catching up on 30 rock, cuddling on the couch, watching the rain make massive puddles in our back yard, watching paper hearts (so cute.. i recommend it), and laughing uncontrollably with the hubby... Our weekend was great! 

A Day at the Farm

 

The writing and reading have sucked Mr. Bear into his own world. Inevitably, I get in his way and disturb him. So yesterday I decided to go have a little fun by myself and get out of the house for Mr. Bear's sake. I got my camera and headed to the Rutgers farm. It was so relaxing to walk around and hang out with all the animals. I sat in the pigpen for almost an hour watching and playing with the baby pigs. Everything about farms, from the animals to the smell, reminds me of home. Call me crazy but it is very comforting. Thank you animals for giving me a very calming day. 
P.S I brought Mr. Bear to the farm today so that I could see the baby pigs. They won my heart. 

I Almost Came Home With...

A cute, adorable little piggy.

 Not really, but I did have a hard time saying goodbye. 

I think I will go back and visit them tomorrow! 

The top baby pig was only 10 hours old. 

October Festival

 

 

                            

 

Every year they hold a cat and dog adoption October fair/festival near the town we live in. This year I was involved and had a photography booth set up. The hubby was such a trooper and went with me. We had a lot of fun together. The festival was at this beautiful 1400 acre farm/greenhouse. All of the booths were in the main green house surrounded by flowers and wonderful decorations. Shento also came with us. However, remember we were in a greenhouse and the roof makes a little noise when the wind blows. The second the roof started making noise(which was about 3 minutes after we got there)  Shento ran under a bench, curled up into a little ball and started shaking uncontrollably. He was embarrassing! It looked more like we abuse him then anything else, so the hubby kindly brought him back to the car. We did this three or four times throughout the day with wishful thinking that Shento might get better. We were wrong.

After the show we were able to walk around outside. There was a pond garden and pumpkin yard and lots and lots of plants. It was a beautiful day and the hubby and I really enjoyed being a part of the festival, as well as being able to explore a place we had never been.